BEIRUT, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's public transportation drivers will implement a sit-in Wednesday in front of the automotive inspection centers, vowing to take escalatory measures next week, local online news Elnashra reported Tuesday.
"We will close the entrance of Beirut Airport, ports of Beirut and Tripoli, and we call upon the prime minister and interior minister to bear full responsibility," Bassam Tleis, head of the Union of Public Drivers, was quoted by Elnashra as saying.
Unions representing public transportation drivers have on many occasions voiced their opposition to the privatization of the automotive inspection centers and the increase in the cost of automotive inspections.
Lebanese company Autospect was awarded over two years ago a contract to manage the centers in collaboration with Swiss logistics company SGS, saying they would offer new and improved services.
Automobile inspection fees would increase 65 percent, from 20 U.S. dollars to 33 dollars.
Tleis called upon the government to take control of the automotive inspection centers and to keep current employees while protecting their rights.
"I call upon the government represented by the interior ministry to implement the law by taking full control of this sector," he said.
A week ago, public drivers in Lebanon started a wide protest blocking streets in Beirut, Tripoli and other cities to claim for their rights.
Their demands also included the need by the government to track cars with forged plates in addition to stopping foreign drivers from operating and competing with local public drivers.
They also urged for putting an end to the chaotic increase in fuel prices and drafting a local transportation strategy to solve traffic problems.
