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Truck drivers remain a point of concern for the next government. They have been demanding from the Transition Team, which is responsible for the preparations of the future Federal government, the revelation of the minister that will be responsible for the negotiations with the category. Their request is driven by the same problems that caused a general strike in 2018, during former President Michel Temer’s mandate.
Negotiations
According to one of their leaders, Wallace Landim, known as “Chorão”, the truckers want to know the minister that will be responsible for their issues so they can start negotiations.
Main Demands
Among the complaints are the high prices of diesel, the freight rate, security against theft on the roads, and the low growth of the economy.
Another relevant topic for the truck drivers is the end of the PPI (import parity price), a pricing policy adopted by Petrobras linked to international oil values —and which, ultimately, makes diesel fuel – used in trucks – more susceptible to the international scenario, the dollar exchange rate and the value of an oil barrel in the international market.
The General Strike from 2018
The last great strike caused a lot of trouble to society with strong impacts in the economy and on peoples’ lives. At the time of the strike, a liter of diesel was approximately R$ 3.76, according to data from the National Petroleum Agency (ANP). However, now, with pandemic, a war with global impacts, and the deceleration of the local economy, prices are much higher, around R$6.55. This may increase tensions between authorities and workers.
Even though the demands aforementioned were not delivered by the current government, several measures to control fuel prices were implemented, such as the suspension of the tax on the circulation of goods (ICMS) collected for fuels, and the creation of a special benefit to truckers. However, the measures are temporary or are being disputed, the case of the tax removal.
Next Year’s Biggest Concerns
A survey by Freightbras, an institution to which 750,000 truck drivers and 18,000 freight companies are associated, pointed out that drivers’ biggest concern for next year is the economy. Uncertainties regarding butterflies, international conflicts weighing on fuels and domestic problems were indicated as the biggest problem to be overcome in the next year.
