Gas-stations on two day strike as of Monday

Gas-stations throughout the kingdom started Monday a 48 hour-strike at their union's call to protest undue practices by supply firms.

The Moroccan federation of gas-retailers says gas-station managers were infuriated by non-enforcement of collective conventions passed with the firms and meant to increase their profit margin from 10 to 25 % on the detriment of oil firms. The sales of gas coming from border zones is also denounced.

Gas-stations now totaling 1,800 in the country have already been on a successful strike in 1997. A last attempt Friday by energy and mining minister Youssef Tahiri to cancel the stoppage failed.

The kingdom's oil bill for the Jan-Nov. 1999 period reached $ 790 million (7.9 billion dhs) while it stood at $ 510 million (5,1 billion dhs) for the same period of the preceding year. This rise of 54,9 % is mainly due to increasing prices of crude oil in international markets.