Updated on 9/22/00 - 5:00:00 PM EST Ontario Owner-Operators Threaten Fuel Blockade

The National Truckers Association, a group of 1,700 independent owner-operators in Ontario, said it would make good on its threats to blockade fuel depots starting Friday at 5 p.m. to protest high fuel prices, but a widespread rumor said it could begin at midnight.

NTA, which draws most of its members from owner-operators hauling for major auto makers, has targeted the auto industry in particular for slowdowns in addition to the blockades that would affect everyone. Current diesel wholesale prices in Ontario average US$1.14 a gallon; retail prices average US$1.86 per gallon.

NTA has been negotiating, along with the Ontario Trucking Association that represents truck company owners, with the provincial and federal governments for reductions in fuel taxes. But both the Ontario and federal governments have indicated they are not willing to cut fuel taxes.

Government officials, in a counter proposal, indicated their willingness to impose fuel surcharges on shippers. However, on Friday morning NTA rejected that proposal.

According to OTA sources, Ontario Economic Development Minister Al Palladini met with OTA and NTA Friday and asked NTA not to strike while the talks continue. But he told the group that that for now he has done the best he can with the negotiations, the sources said.

OTA quoted Palladini in a press release yesterday, saying, The government is prepared to regulate, if the industry wont regulate themselves when it comes to fuel surcharges. This includes the fuel surcharges that shippers pay to carriers and carriers to owner-operators.

The province has proposed a seven-point plan to improve the plight of its truckers. It includes: issuing guidelines for contracts between owner-operators and carriers, upgrading truckers licenses, phasing out retail sales tax on warranty repairs and insurance premiums, and establishing a Trucking Industry Working Group to ensure the provisions are carried out.

On Thursday, a group of about 100 truckers had staged a temporary shutdown of Highway 401, a major truck corridor that runs through Toronto, and another group of 200 truckers shut down a truck-weighing scale in Toronto.

http://www.ttnews.com/members/topNews/0005670.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 22, 2000

Answers

This is something that, if not nipped in the bud, could quickly spread throughout the country.

-- Uncle Fred (dogboy45@bigfoot.com), September 23, 2000.

Some Ontario truckers start strike over fuel WebPosted Sat Sep 23 00:20:49 2000 ET

TORONTO - Some truck drivers in Ontario parked their rigs and began a strike Friday night, although there were no reports of roads being blocked.

As they plotted strategy at a truck stop just east of Toronto, the drivers hinted they may surround oil refineries to choke off the supply of gas to service stations.

After failing to reach a deal with truckers earlier in the day, Ontario's Economic Development Minister Al Palladini asked them to postpone their protest over soaring fuel prices.

"Keep calm, keep moving," he urged truckers, as he requested extra time to come up with a way to compensate them for rising costs.

As the weekend began, there appeared to be two separate disputes: one over the price of fuel, and the other over the legal weight that trucks are allowed to haul.

Some drivers who are upset about the weight regulations began slowing down traffic around highway scales Thursday night. The dispute continued west of Toronto Friday evening.

After meetings Friday, Palladini promised to keep working on a way to get more money into the pockets of drivers. He scheduled an all-party meeting for next week to come up with a detailed compensation plan.

The National Truckers Association said it was up to each driver whether to go on strike. The organization has discouraged them from blocking highways, the way European truckers did earlier this month.

The head of the association, Bill Wellman, said he likes Palladini's suggestion that the provincial government force shippers to pass along profits from "fuel surcharges" to the drivers.

But he said without a promise of more money for drivers by Monday, he couldn't tell members to call off the strike.

Palladini has said Ontario is prepared to regulate the trucking industry if it won't regulate itself  setting up a group to look at fees and other expenses.

Wellman said the truckers want either a guaranteed income or a minimum wage.

Ontario and other provinces have been arguing with Ottawa over who will lower fuel taxes first.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien has said any option that reduces prices should benefit Canadian consumers and not line the pockets of the oil companies.

Federal Finance Minister Paul Martin is considering a fuel tax rebate for low-income Canadians.

http://cbc.ca/cgi- bin/templates/NWview.cgi?/news/2000/09/22/gas_protest000922

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 23, 2000.