Founding Chairman Of The Highway Freight Carriers Federation Ahmet Uzun, 'If Our State Requests Load Notice From Us, It Should Define Us First'

Süleyman Örsoğlu, Highway Freight Carriers Federation Founding Provincial Chairman in Sakarya:

"WE WILL REQUEST THE RIGHTS GIVEN TO US FROM OUR MINISTRY AND RELATED AUTHORITIES"

Nihat Süver, Highway Freight Carriers Federation Founding Member and Provincial Chairman in Van

"WE ASK FOR SUPPORT FROM THE DRIVER'S, WE ARE BUILDING THIS FORMATION FOR THEM"

As My Truck Magazine, we participated in the founding congress of the federation and interviewed with Founding Chairman and Vice Chairman, Ahmet Uzun; Founding Provincial Chairman in Sakarya, Süleyman Örsoğlu; Founding Member and Provincial Chairman in Van, Nihat Süver; Ankara Provincial Chairman, Tarık Talu and Ankara Kazan District Chairman, Murat Açık. You can read the details in our news.

Founding Chairman Ahmet Uzun states that he has been a big vehicle driver for 36 years and they know the needs of the profession and in this direction he is the Founding Chairman of the Federation. Stating that they will fight for the needs of the profession under the roof of the Federation, Uzun states that their legal struggle has started with the founding congress. Uzun said that; “We will prepare our trades according to the new regulation. We will also carry out studies regarding our cooperative structure. There is an article in the law stating that "If a profession does not have a non-governmental organization related to it, it will be affiliated to the one closest to it." Since we do not have an NGO, the state has tied us to the Drivers and Automobile Federation. They are semi-official non-governmental organizations, we are not yet. We will also be under the roof of Confederation of Tradesmen and Artisans of Turkey as 13rd federation after one year following the date we established as semi-official non-governmental organizations. Large vehicles such as trucks, vans and trucks will carry out their official business through us. We currently have 62 provincial chairmanships and 110 district chairmanships. Of course, these districts are the ones where the transportation sector is intense. We made our general setup, today we are taking our decision to become a federation. Our 11 Provincial chairmen take part in the founding management of our Federation.

"Our Sector Cannot Adapt to the New Regulation as an Individual"

Stating that the Commercial Law Transportation Affairs Department and the Road Transport Regulation have changed, Uzun states that the sector cannot adapt to the new regulation as an individual in the face of this change. Uzun: We can comply with the incoming laws by gathering under the roof of a federation. There are articles in the laws that are related to us, such as the tachograph. Our tradesmen cannot make a profit by complying with the tachograph data reporting in today's market conditions. In the Highway Freight Transport Regulation, it says, "If a profession is approved by the Ministry, it kay define the floor and ceiling price for itself. Based on this law, we will switch to the mileage price application. If we can raise this as well, we will implement it in the first month of 2022. Fuel is our touchstone. We focused on this issue so that we could eliminate the regional inequality in fuel. One kilometer drive for the price of a liter of diesel for 4-axle vehicles, which we call a centipede. 10 percent more than the price of one liter of diesel vehicles, which we call 5-axle trucks. Now 6.70 TL per kilometer, then it will be 7.37 TL. In our 3-axle vehicles, 10 percent above the price of a liter of diesel, 6.30 TL. This will be implemented all over Turkey. When we put this system in place, both our country and our industry will be profitable because there is a freight bill. Our tradesmen will pay VAT regularly when the cargo bill specifies where you bought the load, how much you loaded it, how many kilos it is and the method of payment. It will drive less, fuel and depreciation consumption will be less. Our country buys these products from abroad, so you will pay less for foreign currency. "

"With This System, the State Has No Possibility to Receive Freight Notification"

Indicating that another of their targets is the plate limitation, Uzun said that; “Thousands of people enter our industry hoping to earn money, but because of this price mismatch, they go out of the industry with bankruptcy. Some of them cannot sell their vehicles and cut their vehicles illegally because they cannot pay taxes. This harms the country's economy. If our government wants a freight notification from us, it must first define us. Its should ask "How many people are there?" When the plate limitation comes, we will give the freight notification more easily. With this system, the state does not have the opportunity to receive a freight notification. It will also go the way of punishment. We are currently contributing 52 percent to the country's economy and this rate will rise to 70 percent. We will pay our taxes regularly, we will look at our vehicle more regularly and we will report the freight we carry more properly. In other words, we will comply with the laws better.

When the plate limitation comes, we will give the freight notification more easily. With this system, the state does not have the opportunity to receive a load notification. It will also go the way of punishment. We are currently contributing 52 percent to the country's economy. This rate will rise to 70 percent. We will pay our taxes regularly, we will look at our vehicle more regularly and we will report the load we carry more properly. In other words, we will comply with the laws better. When the license plate is restricted, 2 million 784 thousand of our tradesmen will benefit from it according to the 2014 TUIK data. Therefore, the life status of 14 and a half million people will increase. "

"We Will Build Facilities On Intercity Roads"

Stating that they have a cooperative called Long Distance Workers Cooperation and Solidarity Cooperative, Uzun said that; “With our cooperative, we will build facilities on intercity roads every 200 kilometers. We will take this burden off the state. We will make grosses like Agricultural Credit Cooperatives where all needs from spare parts to mineral oil will be included, we will sell cheap and installment products to our members.”

"The State Does Not Recognize Us Right Now"

Stating that they could not meet with the authorities of the state, Uzun said, “There was a strike one and a half years ago. At that time, we requested an appointment from our Minister of Transport, but our appointment was not answered. The state does not recognize us right now. It sat at the table with the Drivers and Automobile Association and TESK. We depend on them, but they don't know our problem. For example, we have our vehicle built in industrial zone, within the VAT of the spare part. However, when we receive it, we are told, "You will pay plus VAT". Since we have little money, we do not get that VAT invoice, we cause harm to the state. We are establishing a cooperative to prevent these."

"We Will Request The Rights Given To Us From Our Ministry And Relevant Authorities"

We asked our questions to Süleyman Örsoğlu, the Federation's Founding Provincial Chairman in Sakarya. Stating that they decided to become a federation and held their first congress, Örsoğlu said that; “In order to be a federation in accordance with the law, we need to have 5 active associations. We have 5 associations. We held the first congress of our formation as a federation. The problem of our carrier tradesmen is that it cannot be determined whether the carrier is doing this job or not, and the plate limitation. Carrier tradesmen do not have a parameter price either. Commercial taxi charges per kilometer; however, highway carriers do not have a specific price. Our Ministry says in the 2nd clause of the 11th article of the Road Transport Regulation, "If the unfair competition environment is foreseen, the Ministry may determine the ceiling and the floor price if it is deemed appropriate for the public interest." This is why we will become a federation. We will demand the rights given to us from our ministry and relevant authorities. "

"Everyone in the Federation is Carrier and Persons Who Know the Problems of the Sector"

Stating that the K certificate cannot be transferred to third parties in accordance with the legislation, Örsoğlu stated that they are working on this issue, and said that; “If vehicle cards are transferred to third parties, the stability of this sector will increase. Since the carrier does not see a stability, it cannot enter this sector. Because when he retires or wants to leave the sector, he cannot transfer his vehicle card. Due to such problems in our industry, no drivers are trained. The new generation predicts that there is no stability in this sector. However, if there is a turnover, license plate limitation and a kilometer price, this sector will continue. Everyone in the federation is the carrier and knows the problems of the industry. Actually, the law has surrounded the carrier tradesmen, but our problem is that we do not know our rights as carriers. As a federation, one of our most important projects is to increase the education level of carrier tradesmen. The person who will transport domestically must have a mid-level manager certificate. In order to receive this certificate, one must be at least a secondary education graduate. With the consent of our carrier tradesmen, we will enroll in open education.”

As a Federation, We Will Establish Facilities of Our Carrier Friends in 81 Provinces "

Stating that the digital tachograph application was integrated according to the European system, Örsoğlu said in his speech that; “We support this law issued by our state, but at the end of 4 and a half hours of driving, we encounter places where there is no parking space. Our hours fill up on the road and facilities do not pick up our fellow carriers. For this reason, the facilities need to be increased. As a Federation, we will establish facilities belonging to our carrier friends in 81 provinces on the main arteries.”

"We Needed to Establish a Federation to Make This Profession More Feasible"

Highway Freight Carriers Federation, Ankara Provincial Chairman Tarık Talu also states that their aim is to get the rights they cannot get. Talu said that; “Driving is a very difficult profession. You always live in harsh conditions and you are far from home. We do not think we are getting the reward for this. We felt the need to establish a federation to get rewarded for these and to make this profession more feasible. We have been successful and I think we will, too. We are the only organization that does not charge dues. Our members will be partners and our income will be shared among all. Needy people will also be our priority."

“We Seek Support from the Driver Community; We Are Establishing This Formation For Them "

Founding Member and Provincial Chairman in Van, Nihat Süver states that he is included in the federation in order to bring the profession to better positions and to gather the driver community under a single roof within the framework of the rights granted. Süver said that; “We will report our problems to our government and solve them at the table. Currently, there is no responsible for this profession. Nobody has done a study on road carriers. The state cannot find an addressee because it is not interested. For this reason, we established a federation. We created our infrastructure, and we will assist our industry within the framework of law with our state. We listened to what needs to be done and created our files. We will continue to listen to problems and report them to the relevant authorities. We ask for support from the driver community, we set up this formation for them. "

"We Will Gather The Sector Under The Same Roof By Making Use of The Laws"

Expressing their aim as gathering his colleagues under one roof; Ankara Kazan District Chairman, Murat Açık states that there are too many problems in the sector. Açık said that; “Our provincial and district chairmen from 81 provinces came here. We started the foundation of the federation. We will gather the sector under the same roof by making use of the laws. Gathering under one roof is very important in terms of carrying the industry into the future. It is very important not only domestically but also internationally. We will gather under one roof with companies that carry out transportation abroad with a C certificate. "