NewsWhore
05-08-2012, 04:00 PM
The National Dominican Transport Federation (Fenatrado) began its 48-hour national strike at 6am today, Tuesday, 8 May, with a proposed ending at the same time on Thursday. Fenatrado is striking to pressure the government into paying RD$300 million debt. "The strike is on (today) no matter what," declared Blas Peralta, the Fenatrado president. Fenatrado is the organization that controls all freight transportation across the country.
Peralta said that the work stoppage would affect some 5,000 trucks, including the ones that provide service in ports and that carry merchandise to Haiti. "We thought that the government was going to call us, I was in my office until four o'clock in the afternoon and they did not call us," he said.
The pressure from Fenatrado began in April, when they announced the strike. The situation has caused losses since the contract for transporting the pouches filled with election suppliesoabout RD$7 millionowas cancelled after the announcement.
According to calculations by the vice-president of the Dominican Republic Industrial Association (AIRD), Circe Almanzar, the paralysis of freight transportation could cost the country losses worth some RD$800 million per day in transportation from ports and customs alone. This is without counting individual losses that the exporters could have is they do not manage to get their merchandise to the ports on time. "This is a very large sum, since we are talking about RD$1.6 billion for two lost days, this is a big loss for the country," said Almanzar.
The Minister of Labor, Francisco Dominguez Brito, said yesterday, Monday, 7 May, that the strike "is illegal, inadmissible and foolish," first because it does not comply with what is established in the law and the Constitution and second because of the process (the elections) that the country is going through now.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
Peralta said that the work stoppage would affect some 5,000 trucks, including the ones that provide service in ports and that carry merchandise to Haiti. "We thought that the government was going to call us, I was in my office until four o'clock in the afternoon and they did not call us," he said.
The pressure from Fenatrado began in April, when they announced the strike. The situation has caused losses since the contract for transporting the pouches filled with election suppliesoabout RD$7 millionowas cancelled after the announcement.
According to calculations by the vice-president of the Dominican Republic Industrial Association (AIRD), Circe Almanzar, the paralysis of freight transportation could cost the country losses worth some RD$800 million per day in transportation from ports and customs alone. This is without counting individual losses that the exporters could have is they do not manage to get their merchandise to the ports on time. "This is a very large sum, since we are talking about RD$1.6 billion for two lost days, this is a big loss for the country," said Almanzar.
The Minister of Labor, Francisco Dominguez Brito, said yesterday, Monday, 7 May, that the strike "is illegal, inadmissible and foolish," first because it does not comply with what is established in the law and the Constitution and second because of the process (the elections) that the country is going through now.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)