Truckers in Peru threaten largest strike in a decade

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Peruvian cargo and passenger transport union urged the government to meet its demands or the indefinite strike that began on Tuesday will become “the largest in the last decade” in the country, said its top leader, Martin Ojeda.

“The strike is indefinite, it is perhaps the largest strike in the past ten years in the country and it is the second we have held since 2009, not even the agricultural strike has this magnitude at national level,” Ojeda said in reference to a major shutdown staged by farmers in the south and north of the country last December.

Since Tuesday, March 16th, hundreds of members of the interprovincial land transport union of cargo and passengers (COTRAP-APOIP) began a strike that includes road blockades throughout the country, calling on the Executive to return the total excise tax, a third of the tolls charged and measures to address the constant increase in fuel prices.

Given the emergency caused by the lack of transportation and the blocking of highways, which could result in shortages of basic products, the leader remarked that his union is “against disruptions and blockades,” but their situation “is unfortunately having unacceptable consequences.”

Tax refunds

“For a good number of years we have been discussing with the Executive the elimination of the Selective Consumption Tax (ISC), which we consider untechnical because we as vehicle units are unable to change the energy matrix, considering the large capacity and the long distances we have to travel,” explained the union leader.

He said that two years ago, the Executive granted a 53% ISC reimbursement, but “with an impossible obstacle to overcome, which led to only 0.30%” of the total number of truckers to request it.

Tolls and fuels

Ojeda also assured that “at the height of the pandemic, tolls have risen considerably” and considered that “as in other countries, the State must return a percentage to public transportation, because we have no other choice”.

He assured that since the last El Niño weather phenomenon, which hit the country hard in 2017, truckers are traveling “on inaccessible roads and with the highest tolls in the region”.

Cargo and passenger drivers also demand that measures be taken on the price of fuel since, according to their leader, “unlike in other countries, which has dropped considerably since last year, here in Peru it has been raised 21 times.”

He said that these increases began before the pandemic and now drivers are paying 15 soles per gallon of oil, an amount close to US$3, which he described as “unacceptable.”

Response to the President

After the president of Peru, Francisco Sagasti, on Wednesday called on truckers for “understanding” due to the health and economic crisis the country is facing, Ojeda stated that they understand “the situation,” but they ask for a dialogue in which the president himself or the Prime Minister, Violeta Bermudez, would take part.

“Their speakers should be immediately replaced by the presence of the president or the prime minister, because if he is asking for understanding, we have been sending him documents and technical evidence for months,” he emphasized.

The leader reiterated that they are seeking “a prompt solution” to their claims and acknowledged that a prolonged strike could lead to shortages in the country, since “truckers who carry food are not working.”

Specific agreements

Ojeda pointed out that in this “immediate meeting” that they propose to hold with Sagasti or Bermúdez they must “reach specific agreements and respect something very important, which is their word.”

He maintained that they are currently meeting “with the same negotiators” who have always “denied them things,” since in a meeting held on Tuesday with the Vice-Minister of Transportation, Paul Caiguaray, they were not offered any solution.

The strike continues with the participation of the country’s interprovincial cargo and passenger drivers, who blocked highways in several localities, including Lima, where passage was blocked in the northern district of Carabayllo, which leads to the Andean highlands of Canta.

Government position

Given the situation, President Sagasti assured that the Executive has explained its limitations and options to meet truckers’ demands, since the price of oil “is not arbitrarily set by Peru or by the Government.”

Sagasti also said that changes in the regulations for the ISC refund are being assessed to simplify the refund process, as well as to take a number of specific measures “of an administrative nature.”

While hundreds of vehicles of all sizes remain stopped on the country’s highways, in the southern region of Tacna two tanker trucks with 43 tons of medical oxygen purchased in Chile are also stranded, which should be shipped to attend to the needs of critically ill Covid-19 patients.