Daghestani lorry drivers may return to strike

• 1 min read

Daghestani lorry drivers may return to strike

Lorry drivers protest in Daghestan (Aida Mirmaksumova / OC Media)

Lorry drivers in Daghestan, who ended a month long strike on 28 April, warned the government on 11 May that if their demands are not met, they will go back on strike.

‘MPs of the State Duma met with us. They promised us that they would solve our problems. They asked for time for that. We gave them time — two months’, Rustam Mallamagomedov, one of the strikers told OC Media.

Russia-wide protests against the ‘Platon’ road tax began on 27 March. In the North Caucasus, Daghestani lorry drivers were the first to join the strike. They were later followed by approximately 100 drivers from North Ossetia, and then a smaller number of drivers from Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachayevo-Cherkessia. In Chechnya, there were no protests against ‘Platon’.

‘We did not retreat. Platon has not been canceled yet, and we are going to pursue our rights further. The abolition of this system is our main goal’, Mallamagomedov added.

Daghestani lorry drivers ended their strike on 28 April. Deputies from the local parliament met with them many times and promised to solve their problems at a regional level, and asked them to disperse.

During the month long protest, the number of protesters gradually declined, with some resuming work and several others selling their lorries.

2017 Daghestan Lorry Strike

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2017 Daghestan Lorry Strike

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