Drivers and bus conductors in São Paulo began a strike on Tuesday afternoon (9) which affects lines throughout the capital of São Paulo. The protest comes after companies operating in the city allegedly delayed payment of the 13th salary, according to the category’s union. With the demonstrations, the town hall suspended the rotation of vehicles.
The demonstration started around 4:30 p.m. According to Nailton Souza, director of organizing and labor relations of the Union of Urban Road Transport Drivers and Workers of São Paulo, the event began spontaneously, after the companies sent a letter communicating the delay in payment on the 13th.
— Contractors should have paid a first deadline of the 13th now at the end of November. They asked the union for a deadline to pay the two deadlines on December 12th. There was a problem with the transfer of funds with the town hall and they were unable to make the payment. The union understood (at that moment). We spoke to the category and agreed — says Souza.
However, this Tuesday the union received a statement from the employer indicating that it would not be able to honor the agreement and pay the 13th payment next Friday. With this news, drivers began removing buses from traffic in different areas of the city.
According to Souza, membership is not unanimous. Among the drivers and collectors who did not participate in the demonstration were, for example, employees of Transwolff, which manages 133 lines in the southern area of the city. The company has been under SPTrans intervention since last year and is under investigation for its alleged ties to the criminal faction Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC). Employees would normally have received the 13th.
According to the union, the strike affects the garages of the following companies:
- Express
- Black cat
- Saint Bridget
- Sambaiba
- Metropolitan Transport
- Environmental
- Via South-East
- Viação Grajaú
- Mobibrasil
- Campo Belo
- Gatusa
- KBPX
- Pass through
- Transunion
- Movebuss
The following companies have garages in normal operation:
- Spencer
- Northern Bus
- Upbus
- Allibus
- Fishing
- SPTrans D10 and D11
- A2 Transportation
- Automatic Blessing
- Alfa Rodobus
GLOBO has asked the City of São Paulo and the Union of Urban Public Passenger Transport Companies of São Paulo to comment on the strike and is awaiting their comments.
In a video sent to drivers and collectors, Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) denies problems with transferring resources to bus companies. He also calls the sector’s contractors “irresponsible” for the delay and says the town hall will take legal action to resolve the problem.
— All payments from the city of São Paulo to public transport companies are up to date, so there is no reason for them to delay the payment of salaries, especially in the case here, from the 13th (…) the problem of these irresponsible businessmen, I will be the one to take care of it — said Nunes.
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