Port Sudan’s bus drivers on strike

Drivers of public transport mini-buses in Port Sudan will lay down their work as of tomorrow, in protest against the arrest of several colleagues.

A leader of the Amjad mini-bus drivers in the capital of Red Sea state, Mohamed Abdelgader, reported the arrest of the seven drivers in El Gismul Awsat station. They had refused to pay a daily fee of five Sudanese pounds ($0.75) to the buses' union without receiving an electronic receipt.

The head of the union, responsible for the station's management, filed a complaint with the police and the drivers were arrested. All seven detainees have been bailed out, Abdelgader said.

“Our branch has filed a legal appeal against the detention, and we filed a lawsuit against the buses' union, for illegally collecting daily fees without returning an electronic receipt.” The branch also rejects the collection of daily fees from Amjad drivers.

Starting tomorrow, no mini-bus will transport people and El Gismul Awsat station will be vacated, Abdelgader said, until their appeals will be looked into. Their memorandum in which they refuse the collection of SDG5 a day has been sent to the state Governor, the Commissioner, and the director of the legal department, but has not been responded to yet.