The government did not seem to realise that diesel was a work tool, said the GRTU in a statement yesterday. If it did, it would agree to the GRTU’s proposal to ease the price burden by reducing the tax imposed on it, the statement continued.

The price rises were having an impact on commercial operators who could not continue carrying the burden of absorbing the repeated price increases.

It was not right, said the GRTU, for the government to continue raking in all the income raised from the tax, while those who used diesel in their operations had themselves to account for the increases. Some could raise their prices to pass the increase on to the consumer, but there were many who could not. The GRTU said it was being forced to direct self-employed people and traders to impose a surcharge by which they could to compensate for the diesel price increase.

The situation today was such that the government needed to ensure that it followed a proper policy on prices because of the upheaval in international markets.