Minimum wages, safety for truckers essential for smooth supply chain in coronavirus lockdown: Ashok Leyland

The government may consider giving minimum wages to truck drivers, providing insurance cover and ensuring their health and safety as some of the measures to ensure disruption-free transportation of essential supplies during the lockdown, Ashok Leyland Managing Director and CEO Vipin Sondhi said on Tuesday.

Also for the drivers who are transporting essentials across the country, assistance needs to be provided in the form of food, water, essentials, and service support at pit-stops along the highways, he said.

"Logistics and transportation are the backbone of the economy, and in these challenging times, vehicles need to be running to transport essentials," Sondhi said in a statement.

He further said the truckers ensure that the supply chain of these essential supplies is not disrupted, and the communities affected by the lockdown are cared for.

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Suggesting steps that the government may take to help truckers during the lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic, he said through regulations, minimum wages must be provided to the drivers and ensure their benefits are looked after.

Further, the drivers should be provided insurance and their health and safety ensured, while through cabin regulation their working conditions must be mandated, he added.

Sondhi further said,"Also for the drivers who are transporting essentials across the country, assistance needs to be provided in the form of food, water, essentials, and service support at pit-stops along the highways."

He said Ashok Leyland has already started initiatives on this front and look forward to partner with the government for any new initiatives on these lines.