07/02/2024 – 7:37
Bus drivers in São Paulo decided on Friday, July 28, to go on strike and halt their activities starting at midnight on Wednesday, July 3, in the city of São Paulo. The movement is led by SindMotoristas, an organization that represents the category, which includes drivers, ticket collectors and other employees in the maintenance and inspection sector.
Before the strike, however, two meetings between the parties – workers and employers – are scheduled for this Tuesday, July 2, which could change the course of the strike.
According to SindMotoristas, which has been campaigning for wages for over a month, SPUrbanuss, the union that represents the companies, has not yet presented any proposal in the negotiations capable of demobilizing the movement.
The first meeting, scheduled for 10 am, will be a technical meeting mediated by the Court of Auditors of the Municipality of São Paulo (TCMSP), which will seek technical information based on an analysis of the Passenger Public Transport Concession contracts in light of the workers’ demands.
The meeting was requested by SPTrans, and will also bring together representatives from the City Council, the Regional Labor Court and the Labor Public Prosecutor’s Office, who were also invited.
Shortly after, at 11 am, another meeting was scheduled between SindMotoristas and SPUrbanuss. The meeting is a conciliation hearing called by the Labor Court, this at the request of the workers.
Judge Davi Furtado Meirelles, of the Regional Labor Court, mentions in the ruling that, according to SindMotoristas, at the end of June, there was no “progress in collective negotiations” between the parties, and that “nothing concrete was presented to the union” by the employer category.
In order for Wednesday’s strike to be called off, it is not enough for the parties to simply reach an agreement. SindMotoristas would have to take the possible new proposal to an assembly for a vote by the workers. If the proposal is rejected, the decision to strike may continue to be valid.
The Union of Urban Passenger Transport Companies of São Paulo (SPUrbanuss), an entity that represents part of the companies responsible for the service in the capital, said in a statement that it “is in disbelief with the decision of the Drivers’ Union” to go on strike next Wednesday.
This is because the employers’ union says that a hearing at the Regional Labor Court (TRT) is scheduled for Tuesday, the 2nd. “The Drivers’ Union is confronting the TRT and what may be decided at the hearing. It is disrespectful to Justice or an unreasonable way of putting pressure on the TRT,” said SPUrbanuss.
In a statement, the City of São Paulo says that the municipal administration and SPTrans have requested a preliminary injunction in the Labor Court so that the bus fleet can operate at 100% during peak hours and 80% at other times and are awaiting a response from the Court.
“SPTrans reinforces the need to serve the 7 million bus passengers so that they are not harmed and has taken the necessary legal measures in favor of the population,” says the statement.
“Regarding the workers’ motivations, the City Hall clarifies that it is only following the negotiation between the parties and hopes that the representatives of the category and the businesspeople find a common point in the salary campaign without harming passengers”, the note concluded.
Negotiations have been dragging on for months
Last month, road workers voted and approved a strike for the beginning of June, but backed down after reaching an agreement with SPUrbanuss, in a conciliation hearing at the Labor Court.
At that time, SindMotoristas agreed to withdraw from the protest under certain conditions. One of them was the creation of a technical body to oversee the contracts signed between the dealerships and the City of São Paulo.
After the agreement, the workers decided to suspend the strike until June 30, the date considered the deadline for Sindmotoristas and SpUrbanuss to reach a consensus on the employees’ demands.
Since nothing was presented by the employers, SindMotoristas mobilized the category, which decided to vote again for the strike last Friday.
The workers’ main demand is a reduction in the working day to 6.5 hours with an additional 30 minutes of paid time. “This is the main demand of the category,” said the SindMotoristas advisory team.
The list of demands also includes a 3.69% salary adjustment based on the IPCA-IBGE plus a 5% real increase; a quality basic food basket; correction of the Profit Sharing Program (PPR) from R$1,200 to R$2,000; and improvements to meal vouchers, life insurance, medical and dental plans, as well as a review of funeral assistance amounts.
#Meetings #determine #bus #strike