The president of the National Union of Heavy-duty Transporters (UNT), Javier Marchese, announced that the union has called for an indefinite national strike starting Monday, June 27. “On Monday, no food will enter Lima,” he said.
According to the leader, the transporters' strike will be carried out at the national level and will be mainly carried out by those transporters that transport heavy loads. According to estimates, some 400,000 trucks will stop their operations in different regions of the country.
What do transporters demand?
According to Javier Marchese, the transporters are demanding the restitution of freight transport as a public service; the reduction in the price of diesel; a solution to the unfair competition they consider exists on the part of their Bolivian and Ecuadorian peers; and the regulation of tolls after a review of their respective contracts, among other things.
The sector is also concerned because the Ministry of Transport and Communications won't extend the exemption from the Selective Fuel Consumption Tax until December.
The strike would prevent different products, such as vegetables and fruits, which come from the interior of the country, to reach the wholesale markets of Lima. This means Lima would stop receiving garlic, spinach, carrot, lemon, onion, potato, tomato, cauliflower, lettuce and pea, passion fruit, papaya, pineapple, strawberry, and mandarin, among other products that mainly come from Tingo Maria (Huanuco), Chanchamayo (Junin), and Huaral (Lima provinces), among other products.
How will the strike develop?
Marchese said his members have been asked to stay in their garages since Sunday and not go out on the roads. The transporters that are already on the roads will have to park their trucks at the side of the road. “We don't want violence and nothing that generates conflict,” he said.
Marlon Milla, president of the Guild of Heavy Carriers and Drivers, said that the stoppage would only consist of an 'engine shutdown'.
“The trucks that are en route will park to the side of the roads and they won't budge until the requests are resolved,” he said.
Source: elcomercio.pe