The gasoline disaster and the truck strike in Jordan are intensifying. In the direction of an answer? | Financial system

Amman– The scene of the truck and public transport strike in Jordan become a basic strike within the governorate of Ma'an (southern Jordan), and it shortly unfold to quite a lot of Jordanian governorates , whereas the joint committee between the Council of Ministers and the Home of Representatives concluded a set of “mitigating choices to keep up safety and stability, and put the general public curiosity first”.

The selections included rising freight charges, rising the worth of money help offered to inside public transport, fixing the costs of “kerosene” used for heating all through the winter months, native banks deferring loans to Jordanians for the present month, in addition to offering money help to heat up poor and needy households, and persevering with to help a bundle of merchandise for the approaching yr 2023.

On December 4, the Union of Truck Homeowners and Land Transport Line Staff introduced a strike, demanding a drop within the costs of petroleum merchandise, together with diesel, which constitutes 40% of the transport sector's working prices. utilities, and a rise in freight charges for vans.

Closure of roads and assault on buses

On the worldwide desert street linking the ports of the coastal metropolis of Aqaba in southern Jordan (330 km) and the governorates of the Kingdom, demonstrators attacked vans, buses and tanks loaded with petroleum derivatives, which referred to as on the general public safety forces to make sure their safety. for these vans and open the roads closed by the protesters.

Regardless of “mitigating authorities choices”, the final strike within the governorate of Ma'an – in solidarity with the strike of truck drivers and the general public transport sector demanding a drop within the value of gasoline – has halted the industrial motion within the metropolis, the roads have been empty of pedestrians and Al-Hussein Bin Talal College suspended pupil attendance.

Final night time, Wednesday, Jordanian cities witnessed demonstrations by truck strike supporters, which resulted within the closure of main roads with burning tires, and clashes with public safety forces, who dispersed protesters, reopened roads and extinguished tire lights.

mitigation choices

Final night time, Wednesday, the Prime Minister introduced a bundle of “mitigating choices” after session and settlement with the parliamentary committee fashioned by the Home of Representatives to observe the truck and public transport strike, led by the Speaker of Parliament, Ahmad Safidi.

Authorities choices to reply to calls for from the Union of Truck and Public Transport Homeowners included the next:

• A rise of 1.5 dinars per ton (2.1 {dollars}) in transport prices for phosphate, potash and sulphur.
• Elevated container transport prices from 52 dinars ($73) to 500 dinars ($704), as an alternative of 448 dinars ($631) per ton, as much as 25 tons container weight on the Amman/ Aqaba.
• Stabilize the value of kerosene throughout the winter season, and never enhance its costs even when they enhance globally.
• Reverse any decline in oil derivatives costs ought to they proceed to fall on the present price globally throughout all oil derivatives.
• Proceed to subsidize a set of merchandise within the quantity of 277 million dinars (390 million {dollars}), that are allotted within the 2023 price range.
• Improve the variety of college students benefiting from the Poor Scholar Help Fund, which could have a optimistic influence on 1000's of Jordanian households.
• Fee of winter assist to all destitute households benefiting from repeated month-to-month assist packages and the unified financial help program within the quantity of three.5 million dinars (4.9 million {dollars}). This assist advantages 219,000 households.
• Disbursement of gasoline assist from the Nationwide Fund for Support to Poor and Needy Households for the present month, within the quantity of two.6 million dinars (3.6 million {dollars}), with a view to mitigate the consequences rising gasoline costs.
• Reply to requests from the interior public transport sector “buses, taxis and companies” by offering monetary help of 6 million dinars (8.4 million {dollars}) for the primary quarter of the yr 2023. The authorities have offered help in money for public transport on the price of 5 million dinars (7 million {dollars}) within the second half of the yr 2022, to keep away from rising transport fares for residents.
• Along with the Banking Affiliation's choice to postpone debt repayments for Jordanians for the present month, in appreciation of Jordanian banks for the financial situations beneath these circumstances.

The costs of petroleum derivatives in Jordan have seen successive will increase which amounted to 16 will increase throughout 2021-2022, and diesel has seen a rise of 45% throughout the present yr, and the Jordanian authorities offered help to grease derivatives within the first quarter of 2022 of 550 million dinars ($774 million) after fixing their costs regardless of world highs.

Aqaba.. a troubled port

On the bottom, the chambers of commerce and business have warned of the implications of the continuation of the truck strike and the interruption of provide chains domestically, which augurs a catastrophe for the native economic system. .

He additionally warned that the strike would negatively influence Jordan's industrial export sector, which achieved important progress approaching 7 billion dinars ($9.8 billion) within the first 11 months of 2022.

The pinnacle of the Jordan and Amman Chamber of Business, Fathi al-Jaghbir, mentioned that 160 industrial firms are affected by the buildup of round 1,200 containers of manufacturing inputs blocked within the port of Aqaba, along with 750 containers awaiting transport for export, and greater than 40 factories have ceased to function as a consequence of lack of manufacturing inputs.

Al-Jaghbir has warned – in press releases – of the implications of declaring the port of Aqaba a “disaster port”, which is able to result in the unloading of containers reaching it in neighboring ports, and the importer industrial will incur further prices, to move by land or by public transport vans.

The chambers of business demanded the cancellation of all prices that will have arisen from the strike, together with flooring and storage allowances, and the cancellation of 1 thousand {dollars} in trade for reserving a container for export , along with fines that will end result from container failure.

The Amman Chamber of Commerce has referred to as the strike an “financial catastrophe”, warning of the buildup of round 16,000 containers prepared for loading, which have been inspected and cleared of customs duties, loaded with items and of foodstuffs, along with roughly 8,000 containers able to be loaded. , however transport and logistics firms have been unable to ship the products. To the house owners of retailers and factories.

The halls of the Home of Representatives witnessed the signing of a parliamentary memorandum calling on the Presidency of the Council to carry a monitoring session to vote confidence within the authorities of Jordanian Prime Minister Bishr Al-Khasawneh, as a consequence of his “lack of ability to meet its mission”. duties in the direction of the nation and the citizen, and its arbitrariness in its choices, at a time when the nation goes via an actual disaster, following the transport strike. .