According to the president of the Chennai Goods Transport Association, NS Sankar, the Federation of Goods Transporters Association of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, Bombay Goods Transport Association and Lorry Owners Federation of Maharashtra have decided not to participate and support the strike call.

"Though we support the issue along with the striking truck owners as the whole fraternity is affected by the hike in insurance premium, the current economic scenario of the country is not conducive to go on a nation-wide strike'', he says.

The Chennai truckers fear that when recessionary trend is prevailing in the trade and industry, a nation-wide strike would further aggravate the situation. Thesegoods transporters are of the opinion that instead of the strike ``it would be better if we present a charter of demands to the government with a timeframe of three to six months to enable the government to solve the issues''. The proposed charter of demand would include, besides the insurance premium issue, the problems being faced by the truck operators on different fronts. Some of the demands are: declaration of road transport as an industry, amendment of the Carriers Act of 1865, abolition of octroi check posts, rationalisation of permit system, making insurance compulsory for the transportation of goods by road by the consignors/consignees and exempting transport industry from the purview of Consumer Act.

They want the government to set up a high-level committee to go into these issues and decide within six months. Sanakr believes that the government action would help revive the transport industry which is ``in doldrums at present''.

He has called upon the apex body to withdraw the strike call.TheTariff Advisory Committee has proposed substantial increase in third party insurance premium on trucks over the next four years. The revised premium from February 1998 would be Rs 2,779. It is proposed to be Rs 5,846 in 1999 and Rs 7,380 in 2000. Similarly the annual increase over base rate is Rs 1534, Rs 4601 and Rs 6,135 respectively.

The monthly increase is Rs 128, Rs 383 and Rs 511 for 1998, 1999 and 2000, respectively. Sankar says though the revision requires a review, ``it is not beyond the capacity of the truck owners necessitating a nation-wide strike.'' However the truckers are of the opinion that the revision will be severe on buses and stage carriages.