Government Tightens Road Controls Amid Union Dialogues
The Deputy Minister said that they listened to Fenacotip, and because of this, the Government advanced road controls. As a result, since last Wednesday, military and police have been patrolling, especially in the provinces of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Los Ríos, Pichincha, and Guayas.
He emphasized that the dialogue tables aim to find solutions to the concerns of transport workers, to safeguard order, tranquility, and peace.
Regarding Thursday's meeting, the official explained that the dialogue would focus on issues or pending matters that transport workers have with municipalities concerning controls, permits, and tariffs, for example.
Reviewing tariffs is a request from the union. However, the Deputy Minister commented that the economic compensation measure, provided by the Government for the reduction of subsidies on extra and eco-country gasoline, is to “protect users” and freezes the possibility of increasing tariffs.
He also confirmed that around 2,000 members of the Confederation - out of a total of 20,000 nationwide - have already registered and received the economic compensation.
Álex Ayala, president of the Chamber of Heavy Transport of Ecuador, brought to the dialogue table the need for a regulatory and sanctioning body for the application of the minimum tariff, which was already defined with the former Minister of Transport, Marcelo Cabrera, and also has a resolution from the National Transport Agency (ANT); but cannot be implemented at this time.
He commented that tariffs have not increased in 20 years and have even decreased. He noted that the increase in fuel prices has made the sector's basic basket more expensive by 35%. He pointed out that the minimum tariff considers the load and the kilometers traveled by the vehicle, considering operating expenses, among others.
