"WE CAN'T FIND DRIVERS ANYMORE"

S.S. Şırnak Motor Carriers Cooperative No 5. has been operating for nearly 28 years and it conducts transportation to every region across Turkey with its 350 members.  Cooperative's President Şemseddin Zeyrek has emphasized two main problems of the region: The lack of maintenance on the roads and the lack of a branch office of General Directorate of Highways in downtown Şırnak...

Here are the highlights from our interview...

"We only offer transportation with our 350 members. We have the R and C documents. We conduct transportation to every region across Turkey. We mostly transport coal to the South-eastern Anatolia. We mostly work in Erzurum, Bingöl, Muş, Diyarbakır, Adana, Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep. During summer, we also transport iron and cement abroad. We mostly receive our cargoes from contractors."

"We Could Have Been Organized If There Was a Fixed Price"

"Diesel prices are one of our biggest issues. For example; we negotiate a price with a contractor and make an agreement. Let's say that we will transport 10 thousand tons or 21 thousand tons of coal. We sign an agreement and get to work. Then, one morning, we wake up and see that diesel prices went up by 1 Lira... Unfortunately, we've already made an agreement with the contractor and naturally, the contractor doesn't understand our circumstances. In that case, we can't solve the issue. We could have been organized if there was a fixed price.  Truckers don't have the strength to fight it. We lose 200-300 thousand Liras each year. Truckers are forced to sell their trucks. It disrupts our organization. As a cooperative, we are outraged by the increasing diesel prices."

"Becoming A Driver Is Also Hard, We Can't Find Drivers Anymore"

"When we're getting a job, they always find our prices too high. Of course, nobody thinks about the diesel prices, oil prices, driver's insurance and costs. And now, they have legislated too many licenses for a truck and each of those are new costs for us. We think that is it is unnecessary to have so many licenses. They ask for a lot of documents for a single license. For example; when you need to get an inspection or insurance for a truck, they demand documents from every place. It should be possible to get these done at a single location. Drivers have to travel all the institutions for these affairs. Becoming a driver is also hard; we can't find drivers anymore. Most drivers are really experienced but they can't handle so many paperwork."

"We're the Ones Doing the Business, Enduring All the Costs and Suffering Its Pain While We're the Ones Who Don't Get Paid!"

"We have major issues with the payments. A contractor comes and tells us that they have a job; you will face issues whether you work with that person or not. But we're bound to work. For example, we make agreements and take checks but their checks bounce. We regularly hear things like: 'I didn't receive my payment; the government did not make my payment.' However, if the state gave these jobs directly to the cooperative, we believe it would be much better. Cooperatives work at a corporate level and such businesses should be operated corporately. We're already operating in this region. There are contractors from other provinces who take the jobs of this region. We're the ones doing the business, enduring all the costs and suffering its pain while we're the ones who don't get paid! We lose 200 to 300 thousand liras each year. We're the ones who suffer. Some people don't pay on time and some go bankrupt. We have different issues with each of them."

"A Single Vehicle Used to Feed Two and Even Three Houses but Now, That's Impossible!"

"We expect our government to support us. Driver insurances are very expensive. It costs 500-600 Liras to insure each month and we pay 2-3 thousand Liras for salary. The truck already has its own costs. It has its insurance costs, inspection costs, taxes, accounting costs, tire costs, oil maintenance, diesel costs... It is covered in costs. A single vehicle used to feed two and even three houses but now, that's impossible! A truck has so many expenses. Our government needs to emphasize and discuss this issue. Unfortunately, a truck has all types of expenses."

"General Directorate of Highways Does Not Even Have a Branch Office in Downtown Şırnak"

"Another issue is our roads... Our roads are in a very dismal state. I've mentioned this issue to our Minister and our Governor many times. General Directorate of Highways does not even have a branch office in downtown Şırnak. There is only one branch office in Cizre. It snows too much here. Sometimes, the road to Hakkari remains closed for 10 days. Likewise, the road to Siirt also remains closed and people get trapped. Especially the Siirt road... I don't think that there is such a road in anywhere across the Turkish Republic. Our region receives investment; however, I believe that the issue is that public institution managers don't do their jobs. They give a job to a contractor but the contractor doesn't even care for it. These contractors take the job for the road and construct it; however, the inspecting institution doesn't do its duty."

"We Expect to See Our President's Genuine and Faithful People In Şırnak"

"As S.S. Şırnak Motor Carriers Cooperative No. 5, we ask our President to address the real problems of Şırnak. If our real problems were addressed, there wouldn't be any terror or problems here. There would be peace and we would all live together hand in hand in this country as brothers. We have major issues but I think that they are being covered up. We need honest people in Şırnak. They shouldn't travel from Ankara to here for other affairs. We expect to see our President's genuine and faithful people in Şırnak."