Amid the drivers’ strike that has been going on since yesterday (25), the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice (TJRJ) determined today (26) the suspension of the city’s intervention on the BRT system (articulated buses with exclusive lanes). The preliminary decision suspends the effects of decrees 50,199, 50,200 and 50,201 that had established the expiry of the concession contracts to the consortia that operated the lines.
“I verify that the principle of continuity of public service is being seriously threatened, insofar as the acts practiced by the defendant until then are shown to be dissociated from the legal norms regarding concessions”, wrote Judge Georgia Vasconcellos da Cruz. The injunction was granted. responding to requests from the Internorte and Transcarioca consortia.
The decision is valid until the analysis of the economic-financial imbalance existing in the BRT operation by the consortia and the contractual breaches by the municipality are concluded. “It is not even necessary to refer to a specific provision of ordinary law when the Constitution itself establishes the guarantee of ample defense and contradictory in all administrative procedures”, he added. A mediation hearing between the parties was scheduled for March 7.
The judge also took into account the strike that started yesterday (25) and pointed out by the city as a possible lockout, which consists of the deliberate and illegal action of businessmen who paralyze an activity to favor their own interests. “Despite the attempt at conciliation to be sought at that hearing, I understand that it is not possible, in view of the initial report and the latest notorious facts (strike by BRT employees), to wait for that act to be carried out without a decision on the required protection” , says the decision.
The BRT system had been operating under the intervention of the city government since March last year, with allegation of non-compliance with contractual obligations by the consortia. To take over the management of the BRT, the public company Mobi-Rio was created, as part of a series of measures aimed at requalifying the service. Yesterday (25), it was published in Official Municipal Gazette at rules for bidding of a new electronic ticketing system, which should be implemented by December. A few weeks ago, the public notice was launched for the purchase of the first wave of 557 new vehicles.
Rio Ônibus, which represents companies in the sector, considers the municipal intervention illegitimate, as the right of defense would not have been respected. According to the entity, the contractual breach was due to the lack of economic balance, since the city hall would not have assumed its duties, failing to inspect clandestine transport and not authorizing a tariff readjustment for three years.
illegal strike
The strike started by the drivers was considered illegal by the Regional Labor Court (TRT-RJ) on the same day. The decision complied with a request from the city hall and Mobi-Rio, which reported that there was no prior notification as required by law. The municipality also claimed that it had not received the list of claims.
The president of TRT-RJ, judge Edith Maria Correa Tourinho, determined the return of at least 80% of the BRT system fleet, under penalty of a daily fine of R$ 100 thousand. The drivers, however, failed to comply with the decision and the strike continues today (26).
The municipality reinforced alternative bus lines and the subway. The mayor Eduardo Paes also announced earlier, through social networks, that layoffs would be carried out for just cause for not showing up to work.
According to the Road Workers Union, the mobilization appeared on social networks. The entity released an official note clarifying that it did not deliberate or start the strike. “Everything indicates that the wage freeze for more than three years, which has already affected the subsistence of workers’ families, generated an accumulation of dissatisfaction and anxiety that precipitated this spontaneous stoppage”, says the text.
Since November, the Road Workers Union has been negotiating improvements in working conditions with Mobi-Rio and the city hall. About 80% of the demands would have already been addressed. After being surprised by the strike movement, the organization asked the city to speed up the negotiation process to reduce the degree of dissatisfaction. “It is no longer possible to continue working with the current conditions. These are buses that break down daily, lack of safety on the platforms and inside the articulated vehicles themselves, in addition to all the gutters in which the buses circulate, which are totally potholed”, said Ademir Francisco, representative of the Road Workers Union with BRT drivers.
lockout report
Paes has been arguing, through demonstrations on social networks, that there are indications of a lockout crime and that the consortium entrepreneurs were behind the strike movement. The Municipal Public Order Department and the Municipal Attorney General’s Office formally requested the Federal Police’s entry to investigate the hypothesis.
In a new demonstration, the mayor regretted the suspension of municipal intervention by the TJRJ. “Judicial decision is respected and respected, but not always understood. Suspending the takeover because of the stoppage is giving reason to the lockout made by those who destroyed the BRT. Interrupting the process is to prolong people’s suffering”, he wrote.
In a note, Rio Bus, which brings together companies in the sector, repudiated the lockout accusations. The entity attributed the strike to the neglect and omission of the city hall. “Even ignoring the needs of the circular lines and investing millions in the BRT, the system lives only on unfulfilled promises for a year, since the city took over the management of the corridors and failed to obtain any improvement for passengers”. The Road Workers Union stated that the workers are not a mass of maneuver, neither of the city hall nor of the businessmen.
