The increase in bus tickets that circulate through the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) which was scheduled to come into force on February 1, was postponed due to a precautionary measure filed in court.
And, as pointed out by the business chambers of transport, this delay complicates the joint negotiation that the companies maintain with the UTA. They expressed this in a statement, in which they also mentioned the update in the subsidies.
“The business chambers of AMBA groups express their concern “due to the lack of application of the rate update reported in a timely manner, due to the precautionary measure that questions the public hearing procedure,” the chambers noted in the statement and highlighted that the region “registers one of the lowest rates in the country.”
“Added to this is the fact that compensations (subsidies), which should cover the difference between the cost of the ticket and the actual cost to operate, were calculated with the prices of inputs as of September and August 2023“, they detailed.
In this sense, the companies point out that “The direct consequence of this is the lack of genuine resources to face the joint negotiation with UTA.which explains the delay we have been having in reaching an agreement, and in addition to this is added the difficulty of sustaining services, in a context of monthly inflation that does not drop below 20%.”
“Tariff adjustment is essential accordingly, to guarantee the provision of services that serve more than 11 million daily transactions,” concludes the statement from the AMBA Chambers of Automotive Transport.
Transport in the AMBA: without agreement and with threat of strike
In this scenario, a meeting at the Ministry of Labor between the Chambers and the Automotive Tram Union (UTA) to continue with the joint negotiationafter the last meetings concluded without agreements.
For example, after Monday’s meeting, UTA issued a statement where they analyzed the situation and highlighted: “We are a gear that drives the Transportation System and not just another cost.”
In this context, they anticipated that they will take forceful measures to “defend their salaries.” “Unfortunately, this situation leads us to place ourselves in a state of alert that will inevitably lead us to forceful measures, which is the tool we have to defend our salaries, which becomes more complicated every day.”
Source: Ambito
