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Mass strike by drivers in Peru leads to talks
9 July 2009
Unions representing 200,000 road transport workers who went on strike on 30 June across Peru in a bid to see their working conditions improved have at last met with the authorities to discuss their demands.
The ITF-affiliated Federación Nacional de Trabajadores de Transporte del Perú, called a national strike, to demand better working conditions for the country’s bus and truck drivers. The strike, which included a march in front of the national congress in Lima and stoppages in other areas of the city, was met with police aggression. Six workers were arrested and some were injured. Meanwhile, in Callao the transport system was brought to a complete halt as a result of the strike.
The union is demanding decent working hours for drivers; it wants to see an eight-hour day brought in as part of efforts to regulate commercial transport in the country and to make the industry safer. Attempts to initiate discussions with the authorities had been repeatedly snubbed. However, during the day of action, unions were invited to attend a meeting with the ministers of labour and transport on 2 July. At the meeting the workers called for a review of transport legislation and for better terms and conditions for drivers.
Antonio Fritz, ITF Inter-American regional secretary, commented: “In Peru most drivers work informally, they are forced to drive 16 to 18 hours per day and have no legal rights as workers. The government must be prepared to embark on a dialogue in order to establish a mechanism for re-regulating transport and reducing the number of casualties on the roads. Workers are fighting for their rights but also for the lives of their passengers.”
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