SHANGHAI: Striking truck drivers gathered for a third day Friday in Shanghai's main harbor district amid heavy police presence and signs the action has already started to curb exports from the country's busiest container port. A crowd of up to 600 people milled about outside an office of a logistics company near the Baoshan Port, one of Shanghai's ports. Some threw rocks at trucks whose drivers had not joined in the strikes, breaking the windows of at least one truck. The strikers, many of them independent contractors who carry goods to and from the port, had stopped work Wednesday demanding the government do something about high fuel costs and what some called high fees charged by logistics firms, said the drivers, who clashed with police officers Thursday. As many as 50 police officers were dispatched to the area Friday, and at least two people were arrested after throwing rocks at trucks. The strikes and protests, if they continue, could become a worry for the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which fears public discontent that could erode its authority and alarm investors. The crowd thinned out after a policeman said authorities plan to meet with the representatives of the truck drivers Monday for talks aimed at ending the strike. “Please disperse and go back,” he said with a loudspeaker, telling truckers who had gathered near a road junction. “We are already talking to your representatives. There will be an answer for you Monday.” Earlier, workers had told Reuters they planned to continue the job action. “We are continuing our strike,” said a 38-year-old truck driver surnamed Liu. “There has been no response from the government or anybody else. There's nothing we can do.” One driver, 31, who declined to give his name, said his transport company was passing on more and more costs to drivers, including for fuel, because it was making losses. “The market is just a mess now,” he said. Another driver surnamed Liu, 28, said his main problem besides rising fuel prices was that police had started fining drivers for all sorts of infraction without warning — for not meeting environmental standards, for instance. He asserted that logistics companies were colluding to charge them higher fees. The strike comes against a backdrop of rising consumer prices and fuel price increases. China's inflation rate hit 5.4 percent in March, prompting officials to renew vows to use all available means to contain price rises. China's tightly-controlled state media has made no mention of the unrest, and nor has the city's government, which is working hard to turn glamorous Shanghai into a global financial hub to compete with Hong Kong or London. An official reached by telephone at Shanghai International Port (Group) Co Ltd, which runs the Shanghai port, told Reuters that the strike “has not affected operations”, though would not comment further. But one executive said the action was already starting to affect the port's operations, at least for exports. “The strike has delayed exports and many ships cannot take on a full load before leaving,” said Wei Yujun, assistant to the general manager at China Star Distribution Center (Shanghai) Co.
