Taxi drivers’ strike on again

The Namibian Transport and Taxi Union (NTTU) has called on its members to go on strike nationwide to show dissatisfaction towards the manner in which the public transport sector is regulated and administered.
NTTU secretary general Werner January said that the union has been trying to get the government’s attention to discuss these issues but they are never taken seriously.They plan to hold a small demonstration on 20 of June in solidarity with their members who will appear before court for the 2011 strike. He further said that those charges must be withdrawn because nothing criminal was done.
“We will start to register members who are willing to participate in the strike as from 03 June to 20 July this year and we will decide thereafter on how and when to hold the strike”, January said.
According to taxi secretary general, they will start with mini-strikes in the regions which will lead to a massive strike in Windhoek. He also said that the union will bring a court challenge to have the new traffic fines revisited and reversed. “These high fines are unconstitutional as they disadvantage the taxi drivers who are already poorly paid”.