Brazil: Rio’s bus services decide to go on strike for an indefinite period of time

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bus users will have difficulties moving around Rio City on March 29. On March 28, the Union of Road Transport Workers of Rio de Janeiro approved a drivers and conductors’ strike with an indefinite duration. The strike started at midnight on Tuesday, March 29. Because of the strike, the city government advises people to work remotely or avoid using other transportations in the city during peak hours.

According to the union, about 450 professionals attended the meeting at the representation’s headquarters, in Rocha Miranda, in North Zone. The decision was communicated to the Regional Labor Court (TRT) according to the entity.

The city has 19,000 bus drivers responsible for transporting 3 million passengers daily. The new chapter of the arm wrestling between the bus operators and the bus companies aggravates the city’s already chaotic public transportation situation. An alternative for most of those who depend on buses to get around, SuperVia trains were at a standstill for more than four hours on March 29.

The Union of Road Workers president, Sebastião José, says that there was a “total neglect” of the business people concerning the possibility of a proposal on the workers’ salary agreement, the object of a lawsuit. The plea is for a salary and benefits readjustment, which hasn’t happened, according to the category, for three years. The union complains of not having received any counterproposal from the business people.

“As expected, the businessmen didn’t offer any proposal to readjust salaries and other benefits. We will continue striking if any proposal is presented. For this, we call a new assembly for tomorrow at 2 PM, here in Rocha Miranda, if this occurs,” said José in a statement.

On Monday afternoon, the union participated in an audience with the presence of bus companies and the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT). The meeting was to discuss the dissent related to the periods 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, which, according to the union, was dismissed by the judges of the Regional Labor Court (TRT) last week.

The proposal presented by the business people at the meeting was to suspend the strike for 70 days, but, according to the union, the Public Ministry considered the deadline too long and suggested that the category waits until March 28. The suggestion was discussed in the assembly this Monday, which ended up opting for the immediate start of the strike.

Hours before the assembly on Tuesday, Jose had already said that the strike was “decreed” but that the category would decide, in assembly, about the date of the strike.

“The strike has already been decreed, but who will decide the strike’s beginning will be the category. The workers will no longer accept any kind of promise from the bus companies,” he said, also in a statement.

CONTINGENCY PLAN

With the approval of the strike of Rio’s bus drivers for the first minutes of March 29, Rio’s city hall is advising Rio’s population to work from home. If the person needs to go in person, the guidance is to avoid the peak hours of the Metro, ferries, trains, and VLT. In a note, the city hall also says that it is taking legal steps to “ensure the provision of public transport by the drivers and the concessionaires.

According to the municipality, a 2018 agreement with the bus companies provides that the consortiums that manage the system must ensure the operation of 50% of the lines that cease to circulate.

“The City Hall advises those who need to work in person to use the Metro, Barcas, Supervia, and VLT during off-peak hours or work from home. The population can follow the updates through the social networks of the COR (Twitter and Instagram), the SMTR (Instagram and Facebook), MOBI-Rio (Facebook and Twitter – @BRTMobiRio), and the AlertRio and Quicko apps,” says the city government in a statement.

COMPANIES UNION CRITICIZES STRIKE

After the decision of the Busmen’s Union, the Union of Bus Companies of the City of Rio de Janeiro (Rio Ônibus) released a statement criticizing the strike.

“Rio Ônibus repudiates the strike movement, which will harm the entire Rio society. The action, which tried to be prevented by Rio Ônibus by judicial injunction, does not solve the class problem and aggravates the current mobility crisis in the city of Rio. Even amid financial difficulties already known by the population, the companies have prioritized the payment of bus workers and the maintenance of their jobs,” said the entity.

“The readjustment of salaries depends on external actions since three of the four consortiums are in Judicial Recovery. Rio Ônibus asks the professionals not to join the strike and resume their workstations, serving the population, until there are results of the dialogues held with the City Hall in the search for solutions for the sector,” he added.

With information from Agência O Globo