The union of the Pando SA Bus Company. (Copsa) carries out a 24-hour strike in the framework of a claim for unpaid wages; The decision comes in the midst of an economic conflict suffered by the transport company for which it declared its “insolvency” in mid-April.
The Copsa Workers Association (ATC) issued a statement this morning detailing that the strike began this Monday at two in the morning and will continue until the same time on Tuesday. According to the letter, the measure is due “to the lack of salary payments and non-compliance with the dates that have been adopted in recent months.”
In addition to ATC, the strike is supported by the National Union of Workers and Transport Workers (UNOTT), which is analyzing the possibility of joining the measure and extending the strike to the passenger transport sector in case there is no response regarding salaries.
From the union they assured Underrayado that the payment of salaries is not fulfilled on the 10th of each month and that even judicial withholdings are owed, as well as licenses.
A conflict with history
In mid-April, Copsa SA declared insolvency and stopped paying salaries to its employees. However, since Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MTOP) They confirmed that the company has the resources to meet its obligations.
From there, the conflict escalated between the company and its workers who ended up meeting in a tripartite meeting with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS) where they reached an agreement that ended up not being fulfilled due to the delay in the payments of the salaries of the workers who decided on this Monday’s measure.
As a solution, the Banco República Oriental del Uruguay (BROU) enabled the loan of 7 million dollars so that companies suburban transportation and, particularly, Copsa can pay the sums owed to their workers and regularize the critical financial situation that the sector is going through. It was a preview of the escrow that the government will allocate at the end of the year.
On the other hand, the leader of the National Union of Workers and Transport Workers (Unott) Miguel Marrero, confirmed that Unott reached an agreement with suburban transport companies for a Salary adjustment which will take effect from June 1st.
“It is an adjustment for six months that contemplates the salary guideline proposed by the Executive power for this semester, which is 1.91%, and one of the remaining installments of a retroactivity that workers in the suburban sector had. That added together implies an increase of 2.54%,” explained the union leader.
Likewise, he pointed out that it is a semiannual adjustment exclusively “because the suburban and urban workers have an agreement of salary equalization since 2008, and in the urban sector negotiations have not yet begun.” “It’s getting out of the way of this moment a little bit,” he added.
Source: Ambito
