In the midst of negotiations to lift the
collective strike
with the companies and workers grouped in the Automotive Tram Union (UTA), the Government announced that
there will be fines for motor transport operators
that have not had service this Thursday.
"The National Transportation Regulation Commission (CNRT), an agency of the Ministry of Transportation, increased controls at the headwaters and carries out inspections for compliance with the frequency of the services of the bus lines of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA). )," the Government reported.
"Consequently,
the lines that during the day did not start their services or lowered their frequency,
are already in a legal sanction process under Article 83 of Decree 1395/1998, with
fines of up to $4,050,000
," added Transportation. .
Meanwhile,
a tripartite meeting was held at the Ministry of Labor at 12:30
to resolve the conflict, which has
paralyzed 80% of the
AMBA bus lines since the early hours of Thursday and affects more than 4 million passengers.
The Secretary of Transportation, Franco Mogetta, declared: "
They take users hostage and we are not willing to give in to extortion
. People voted for our Government to combat these extortion methods."
And he added: "The reason for the strike is an attempt by the union to collect
a sum that is only an expectation,
that is,
it is not mandatory, it is not payable.
The UTA was one of the few that agreed above inflation in February, when
many of the workers affected today, who could not take the collective, could not achieve those types of salaries.
They have to lift the measure and negotiate their salary like any worker."
The retention of tasks is the final result of the economic crisis that the sector has been going through in the last 20 years in the heat of the
freezing of rates
and the
growth of subsidies
, which worsened starting in mid-2022.
So far this year,
the national State has paid subsidies to public transportation by buses in AMBA for about $190,902.25 million
, channeled through the Transportation Infrastructure System Trust Fund (FFSIT), according to Budget data. Open.
If train subsidies are also added,
spending on public transportation accumulated $398,047 million in the first quarter of 2024
, with a
contraction in real terms - discounting the effect of inflation - of 57.63%
, according to the Center for Argentine Political Economy (CEPA). The decrease corresponds to rate increases, but also to having stepped on payments.
Why was there a bus stoppage?
The UTA and the companies had agreed on joint ventures for January and February. In the second month of the year, the drivers received $737,000 as a basic salary and a bonus of $250,000.
A clause in the agreement established that in March the minimum they would earn would be $987,000 (incorporate the bonus into the salary), but the Government does not recognize it because there was no joint agreement signed for March and the following months.
This amount implies an
increase of 308% year-on-year and 83% quarterly, well above what the Government wants to validate
.
The $737,000 corresponds to an increase of 204% year-on-year and 37% quarterly, well below inflation, which was around 286% annually and 50% quarterly (January-February-March accumulated).
In this way,
the Ministry of Transportation did not include this salary bonus in the cost calculation
. And the companies maintain that they do not collect enough between rates and subsidies to pay the difference, which is why they only paid $737,000 in basic costs to each driver.
According to the public service operating companies, they lack about $12.5 billion from the State to be able to cover the entire salary of some 50,000 workers.
In the minutes they signed this Wednesday, the Business Chamber of Urban Transport of Buenos Aires (CETUBA), which represents DOTA
,
even expresses its
agreement with the Government's salary policy "for being absolutely reasonable
, in that it understands that
salary agreements do not "they must not exceed inflationary indices
or validate expectations that feed them back."
According to the Argentine Association of Automotive Transport Entrepreneurs (AAETA), which represents the
Metropol
group , the second in importance behind DOTA, in February the "real" cost of a bus ticket was $1,157 -without VAT-.
Users pay a minimum of $270 with their fares and the State, with subsidies, another $398 per passenger to complete $668.
For this reason, the private sector declares, they are going to lose $489 per ticket or $115,862.64 million per month, which is reflected in a "loss of quality of service, frequencies, security and renewal of units."