July 9, 2023, 12:50 PM
July 9, 2023, 12:50 PM
They have been making labor and social demands for many years, but they only use the camera and microphone when accidents occur, such as the one that involved the death of an elderly person in Los Lotes, and several injuries.
In that opportunity, Johnny Contreras, the representative of the Single Union of Micro Drivers in Santa Cruz denounced that this fact was the product of the lack of vehicle technical inspection. Likewise, in an interview with EL DEBER Radio, he brought up a series of labor violations against the drivers of these units, and the silence of the authorities in charge.
He confessed that it is likely that making some disclosures will cost him a process, as at the time “being unruly” cost him expulsion from line 25.
“The lack of vehicle inspection of the buses, the non-compliance with the norm, is a very delicate issue. We fully know how the inspection of the buses is carried out, because the leader notifies us when it is time to play. The civilian arrives with a cell phone, takes a photo of us and leaves, That is the vehicle inspection for the buses,” he shared.
According to Contreras, as the Union of Bus Drivers they made a formal complaint and request to the competent authorities, to the previous and current Municipal Government of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, that the “criminal” system is removed card marking by GPS.
He said that his employers have been using technology for a long time so that the bus driver can mark the card with an exact precision of seconds, which does not give option to any delay or advancewithout considering certain factors, such as the fact that the vehicle has only one entry and exit door, which takes time and increases the possibility of fines.
The drivers’ routine is hard, said Contreras, “We worked 18 hours behind the wheel, up to 19. We fell asleep at the red light, three to five seconds, we are awakened by the horn of the driver behind. We open our eyes and continue working, but that does not interest the authorities, we are victims of this system,” he lamented.
For the executive of the drivers, a good part of the problem lies in the fact that the municipal governments only talk to the big transport companies, Mario Guerrero, formerly Aldo Terrazas, Wálter Gómez, “and behind closed doors”, which hinders the fulfillment of a true rearrangement of transport.
“Any project or intention to improve transportation in Santa Cruz de la Sierra is going to fail because there is always a political agreement between the Municipal Government and the big businessmen, but never with the driver”, he alluded.
Contreras recalled that a municipal law, 1216, has been in force for approximately five years, which recognizes the right to work eight hours at the wheel, to health insurance and other benefits, “but this Autonomous Municipal Government does not enforce it,” he questioned.
The owner of the drivers added that this norm also assures passengers the rights and guarantees of having a comfortable service, but that it is not enforced. He said it’s so Strong pressure on drivers that as a union they had to organize clandestinely, in secret, because they are fired from work for being unruly, etc..
Likewise, he shared that as agglutinated drivers they are seeking the advice of a legal professional to help them file a complaint with the Public Ministry, for breach of duties of this Municipal Government.
Contreras explained that the drivers, especially the “pointers”, are on the street since four in the morningwhich requires them to wake up at three, and arrive ten minutes before, or pay a fine of Bs 50 to 60.
Depending on the line, they have to complete between four and six turns, and there are lines that leave from Cotoca and arrive at La Guardia.
“We can spend up to 18 hours working, it’s hard. The norm does not allow it, according to the norm, for example Transit inspects the Bus Terminal and requires that each fleet leave with two drivers, otherwise there are penalties, and this for stretches of eight to ten hours of road travel. However, we do not have hours for breakfast, lunch and dinner, our employers do not give us work clothes, food, etc.), “he said.
The driver’s earnings vary, he indicated, but the net income of the bus owner is fixed, about Bs 400 a day“what is left over is for the driver. There are good, regular and bad days, and sometimes we go against it because we do not collect the rent.
In addition, the driver, he explained, cancels the card with which the schedule is marked, which costs approximately Bs 80. He said that on that card there is a detail that says “union”, and that they even force them to make savings on it line.
In addition to being asked for an economic guarantee, the line requires between Bs 1,000 to 1,500 to be enabled. “In addition to that, we leave what is supposed to be daily savings, but when there is a problem, the owner says that the driver owes him, and he withdraws from that savings, or finally does not return the guarantee. Where do we complain? no one listens to us,” he sighed.
According to Contreras, it is the drivers who pay for the administrative maintenance of the linethe salary of the secretary, the accountant, the leaders of each line, water, electricity, because that is what they charge on the card.
Regretted that on that card, and nowhere is there a charge that guarantees the job stability of the driver, health, or daily food. And when the driver gets sick, he said they send him to rest and come back when he’s better.
“The one who gets sick is the driver, not the bus, the next day the bus is already with another partner. And when we recover, we may no longer have a bus,” he said.
On the occasions that a colleague suffers a more serious health problem, he said that it is the drivers, at the different stops, who set up a support box, where money is voluntarily deposited to alleviate the need.
He recognized that many of his colleagues have knocked on the doors of the Ministry of Labor to demand their social benefits and they did not find support or solution thereJust like with the Mayor’s Office.
Contreras believes that it is they, the drivers, who give more life to the sector and better living conditions for the owner, in the sense of the sale of the bus lines. “Putting a bus into a line costs 15,000 dollars, the cheapest, it’s more expensive than the bus, the board of the line is canceled, and surely a commission will come to the union that represents it,” he said.
You know they look bad and he apologized to the population of Santa Cruz, but said that they are not the only ones responsible, and he knows that “apologies do not fix anything.”
For him, it is useless to have authorities like José Quiroz, involved with urban transport, in the Municipal Council. He admitted that they saw the need to talk with him, but questioned that, despite being an elected authority to watch over all citizens, he says “brother carriers to the transport businessmen, not to the drivers. They never mention us, not even this GAM, to find out what we think,” he said, and pointed him out that he is a member of line 85, which runs through Los Lotes. “I understand that he has three buses on that line,” he said.
