The Unions and Leagues of Land Transportation Thursday staged nationwide protests in front of vehicle inspection centers, known locally as “mecanique” centers, to demand reforms in the transportation sector.
The protests took place in Baalbeck, Beirut, Hadath and other locations.
Bassam Tleis, the head of the organization, told The Daily Star that escalatory measures would be taken if some demands are not met within a week, including one that independently owned taxis be allowed to pick up customers from the Beirut airport.
Currently, only specialized airport taxis and taxis that belong to a company can access the airport arrival area. Tleis said this "unjustly" bars the vast majority of the 33,000 taxis in Lebanon from entering.
Some people prefer to always use a certain taxi driver at the airport, he noted, especially if they are going to faraway destinations like Baalbeck. “What about these drivers’ rights?” Tleis said.
The unions have for over two years been calling for the implementation of an agreement they reached with President Michel Aoun that resolved a crippling two-month-long strike they had staged in 2016. The agreement included a demand that Cabinet endorse a national plan organizing the transportation sector, as well as changes to regulations for trucks weighing over 21 tons and a reversal of the privatization of inspection centers.
Tleis said the unions also called for a crackdown on violations in the sector, including falsified license plates and driver’s licenses, and on non-Lebanese workers.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
