Cabinet will amend new traffic law

Decision deters transport sector strike

The old traffic law is back in business after the Cabinet agreed on Wednesday (February 27) to extend its term until it has modified the new traffic control law published on October 25.

In the wake of the decision, the Confederation of Public Drivers and Transport Unions suspended their strike, scheduled for Thursday (February 28). The Cabinet also asked the Minister of Finance to convene with representatives of the transport sector to look into their demands. Bassam Tleis, Head of the Confederation, said: “In addition to the numerous typos in the document, many items were copied from French and Canadian laws which do not apply here.”

The confederation had called the one-day strike with three major demands in sight: The implementation of the public transportation plan, the enforcement of the pertinent laws and the prosecution of violators, and the amendment of the new traffic law.

The Cabinet also vowed to restrain violations and track vehicles holding forged licenses.
The transport unions also called for capping gasoline prices that have soared in the past few weeks. Gasoline prices have increased by almost L.L.4,000 since the beginning of 2013. The price of 20 liters of 95-octane reached L.L.37,100, and that of 98-octane gasoline went up to L.L.37,800.