After government intervention, Bolivian airports operate normally during labor dispute

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Bolivian government placed this Wednesday (1) the country’s airports under the control of the police and the military to guarantee their operations and eliminated the state-owned airport administrator and its union in the face of the threat of a strike by the sector’s workers.

The commander of the Bolivian Police, Jhonny Aguilera, confirmed this Wednesday that police contingents were deployed to different airports nationwide to guard the facilities and guarantee that flights are carried out.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Bolivia

The workers of the eliminated Administration of Airports and Auxiliary Services to Air Navigation (AASANA) determined this Wednesday to radicalize their pressure measures and now demand the resignation of the Minister of Public Works, Edgar Montaño.

“We are going to take more drastic measures; we no longer have to ask for the dismissal of (Arminda Choque, who was director of the Airport Administration), because for them, AASANA no longer exists. (Now) we are going to ask for the Minister of Public Works”, announced Einar Roca, executive secretary of the workers.

This Wednesday, Montaño presented the new director of Bolivian Air Navigation and Airports (Naabol), Elmer Pozo, and announced that the “doors” of this new entity would be open for the former workers of the suppressed Aasana.

The director of Naabol was formerly General Manager of Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos S.A. (Sabsa). Minister Montaño also introduced Boris Barroso, as the head of Aasana’s Liquidadora. He assured that the labor rights of Aasana’s former workers are guaranteed and that the Government is allocating more than 182 million Bolivianos for this purpose.

Some of the leaders discarded the option of joining the new entity and warned that this measure could put at risk category 1 of national airports. “We are at this moment more than 750 unemployed workers. I doubt that they are going to join or be hired at this moment. We are going to continue in the streets, we are going to continue fighting for this institution,” emphasized Néstor Villaroel, secretary of conflicts of Aasana.

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