Bus strike in the Interior results in higher fares

Bus drivers strike, higher fares for the Interior

by Eric Jackson, from other media

On October 20 bus drivers, who own their vehicles and operate them via cooperatives or syndicates in the various provinces, stopped work in five provinces of the Interior. The previous day the Land Transportation and Transport Authority (ATTT) had, after weeks of agitation prompted by high fuel prices, announced a series of fare increases in the Interior. Bus fares are regulated by the government, and although there was a 67 percent fare hike in the Panama metro area during the Moscoso administration, bus fares to and from and within the Interior had not gone up in many years. But the bus drivers complained that the authority's schedule of fare increases was inadequate in light of sharp increases in the price of the diesel fuel on which most of their vehicles run and those working routes in Chiriqui, Veraguas, Los Santos, Herrera and Cocle provinces called a 48-hour strike.

The strike call was well heeded, with a few exceptions among the inter-urban drivers and some local routes in Cocle, Los Santos and Chiriqui. The result was a partial paralysis of economic activity in the affected provinces. Panamanian working people by and large take buses to and from their jobs, so a bus stoppage necessarily disrupts most other business sectors.

The strike was mainly peaceful, but at about seven in the morning riot police swarmed into the Santiago bus terminal to arrest Veraguas bus driver leader José María Concepción and tow away two buses that were parked so as to block access and egress to and from the terminal. During the day Government and Justice Minister Héctor Alemán issued a threat on behalf of the Torrijos administration that drivers who did not immediately return to work would have their permits revoked.

Late at night on the 20th, the striking organizations agreed to end the work stoppage for 20 days of more negotiations with the government. The drivers are demanding an extra dime on all intra-city routes, a quarter more for intra-district district fares and a 25 percent hike in the price of travel on an inter-urban bus.

The next day the ATTT announced an upward revision of its fare schedule of two days earlier for 105 Interior routes, granting increases that range from 15 to 20 percent, or a nickel to $1.50 depending on how far along which routes a passenger travels. Fare increases for a number of other routes, most notably those in or to and from La Chorrera, are under study and expected to be announced shortly.

On the strike day there were a few protests by bus riders, and labor leaders and leftist groups have grumbled about the effect of the fare increases on working people. However, these protests were subdued because most Panamanians understand that fuel prices are currently driven by decisions made abroad and that industries whose costs are largely based upon fuel consumption can't reasonably be expected to eat the extra costs imposed by a global market.

The higher bus fares will surely be a factor in ongoing negotiations among business, labor and government representatives about the minimum wage. These talks have been making little progress, and if they do not produce an agreement the law provided that the president will set the new minimum wage scale by decree.

The problems that high world fuel prices have caused for the Panamanian economy --- and not just the transportation sector --- have added a note of urgency to the Torrijos administration's announced desire to promote the production of bio-diesel and ethanol fuels in Panama. The Brazilian goverment has agreed to help Panama set up production of these alternative fuels, which are not particularly cheaper than petroleum-based products but are less vulnerable to world market fluctuations and offer the prospective economic benefits of making Panama a producer of fuel as well as just a consumer as we now are.

business & economy