NewsWhore
01-11-2010, 03:20 PM
Government officials, led by Metropolitan Office of Bus Service (OMSA) head Ignacio Ditren, have invited the country's transport unions to a meeting on Monday morning to discuss the issues surrounding the recent fare increases on passenger and cargo rates. Ditren said that the government wants to resolve the issues surrounding the increases in fuel prices and has invited public transport unions Fenatrano and CNTU, and leading freight haulers union Fenatrado) to the meeting. Of the 70 inter-city routes, only 28 have seen fare increases, according to Angel Segura, the head of the Land Transport Office (OTTT).
Fenatrano leader Juan Hubieres and CNTU leader Ramon Perez Figuereo both said that they would not attend the talks unless the agreements reached last June are once more enforced and that Diandino Pena should be appointed the official spokesperson of the commission. Engineer Diandino Pena is the director of the Transport Reorganization Office (Opret), the Metro Office.
They differ from the way the government is applying Law 112. They insist that if Law 112 on Hydrocarbons is applied in a transparent fashion, a gallon of LPG would cost RD$47, gasoline would be between RD$107 and RD$110 and diesel would sell for RD$94.
They believe, moreover, that the current commission does not have the power to negotiate, because it is made up of people who operate transport routes, pointing to Ditren and the Presidential Transport advisor Alfredo Pulinario Linares (Cambita).
"They cannot be judge and jury, we have to discuss the issues with officials who do not have a vested interest in the sector and who are not operators of any routes, because otherwise we will be at a disadvantage," said Hubieres. Figuereo said that, "tomorrow we are going to increase fares, because these talks mean nothing to us. We will only attend this meeting if it is convened by Diandino (Pena)." He said that as of today his members would readjust the fares on various urban routes and some of the provincial routes on which they had not applied the RD$5 and RD$25 fare increases that some drivers put into place last week.
Even though the proposal that will be presented to the drivers has not been released, Ditren seemed to favor the idea that drivers should be given some compensation in order to meet the increased operating costs. The Minister of Industry and Commerce, Jose Ramon Fadul, added that the government is willing to grant import permits to the drivers unions so they can import their own fuels.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
Fenatrano leader Juan Hubieres and CNTU leader Ramon Perez Figuereo both said that they would not attend the talks unless the agreements reached last June are once more enforced and that Diandino Pena should be appointed the official spokesperson of the commission. Engineer Diandino Pena is the director of the Transport Reorganization Office (Opret), the Metro Office.
They differ from the way the government is applying Law 112. They insist that if Law 112 on Hydrocarbons is applied in a transparent fashion, a gallon of LPG would cost RD$47, gasoline would be between RD$107 and RD$110 and diesel would sell for RD$94.
They believe, moreover, that the current commission does not have the power to negotiate, because it is made up of people who operate transport routes, pointing to Ditren and the Presidential Transport advisor Alfredo Pulinario Linares (Cambita).
"They cannot be judge and jury, we have to discuss the issues with officials who do not have a vested interest in the sector and who are not operators of any routes, because otherwise we will be at a disadvantage," said Hubieres. Figuereo said that, "tomorrow we are going to increase fares, because these talks mean nothing to us. We will only attend this meeting if it is convened by Diandino (Pena)." He said that as of today his members would readjust the fares on various urban routes and some of the provincial routes on which they had not applied the RD$5 and RD$25 fare increases that some drivers put into place last week.
Even though the proposal that will be presented to the drivers has not been released, Ditren seemed to favor the idea that drivers should be given some compensation in order to meet the increased operating costs. The Minister of Industry and Commerce, Jose Ramon Fadul, added that the government is willing to grant import permits to the drivers unions so they can import their own fuels.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)