Truckers protest diesel prices at Ministry of Energy

A protest by truckers took place on a Bangkok highway yesterday to bring attention to the high price of diesel. The truckers are calling for a cap on fuel prices, and drove in a convoy to the Ministry of Energy to make their demands known.

The drivers parked their trucks along 4 roads around Bangkok, according to the Bangkok Post. These trucks displayed banners that read “Truck Power Season 2,” which is the name of the campaign to have diesel prices capped at 25 baht per litre. The Land Transport Federation of Thailand, or LTFT, planned the protest, which called for as many as 500 to 700 trucks to join. These trucks would drive along 4 different routes around the city, and eventually all meet at the Ministry of Energy for a massive rally.

This is just the most recent protest over diesel prices in Thailand. Earlier this month, a similar strike by truckers and bus drivers was held, in which the LTFT stopped 20% of their trucks from running for one week.

In addition to the price cap at 25 baht per litre, the chairman of the federation called for the excise tax on diesel to be cut, reports the Post. He said that the ministry has until the end of this month to help the truckers. If the demands are not met by then, the chairman says that the federation will raise transportation costs by 10%.

For now, the energy minister is holding firm on a diesel price cap of 30 baht per litre and says that this is only possible through the existing cooperation from the private and public sectors.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post