The urban commune of Tetouan has decided to launch a new call for tenders regarding the delegated management of the urban transport service, following a 15-day strike observed by employees in the sector.

An ad hoc committee chaired by Mohamed Ida Ammar, president of the urban commune of Tetouan, and composed of the presidents of the urban and rural communes concerned by urban transport, decided to open a new call for tenders based on remarks made by the Ministry of the Interior, particularly regarding the financial data of the company "Lux Transports", whose turnover does not allow it to cover the expenses related to the company's projected investment programme, a statement from the urban commune of Tetouan indicated on Tuesday.

After the expanded technical committee, composed of heads of divisions, heads of services, and secretaries-general of the urban and rural communes, examined the explanations and responses of the company in question regarding the observations of the supervisory ministry, it turned out that the latter were "unfounded on technical and financial levels", hence the decision to launch a new call for tenders, the same source specified.

For their part, the presidents and vice-presidents of the urban and rural communes concerned stressed that the decision taken previously regarding urban transport "prioritised the general interest of citizens, especially regarding tariffs", calling for the resolution, as soon as possible, of this problem from which a large segment of the population suffers.

The unified union office of employees of the collective urban transport sector in Tetouan (UNTM) had called, at the beginning of February, for an open-ended strike by employees in the sector, following "the failure of dialogue with the parties concerned".

The union also called for "putting pressure on the companies in question to settle the salaries of the 70 employees who have been unemployed for three months".