- Title: COLOMBIA: Traffic chaos in Bogota after truckers block roads in protest
- Date: 16th February 2011
- Summary: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (FEBRUARY 15, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC JAM POLICE GUARDING PROTESTS POLICEMAN TALKING TO TRUCK DRIVERS DURING STRIKE VARIOUS OF TRUCKS BLOCKING STREET AND PEOPLE ON BIKES PASSING BY GENERAL VIEW OF BLOCKED STREET POLICE MEN CLEANING BURNED TYRE FROM STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RICARDO VIRVIESCAS, LEADER OF THE ACC (COLOMBIAN TRUCKERS AS
- Embargoed: 3rd March 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Colombia, Colombia
- Country: Colombia
- Topics: Domestic Politics,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVAEBRP1L7HQUSMMSQG7JVKI36OF
- Story Text: Striking Colombian truckers blocked some roads in the Andean nation on Tuesday (February 15), forcing thousands to walk, while exporters said the effects of the 13-day walkout were worsening each day without an agreement.
Tens of thousands of members of a truckers group have been on strike since Feb. 3 after a government move to eliminate minimum freight rates, prompting fears that key exports such as coffee would be slowed after two years of bad bean harvests.
"The petition is that the decree is suspended or repealed and as soon as that happens, we'll lift the strike," said Ricardo Virviescas, secretary general of the truckers association.
Unions often use the threat of strikes and walkouts for leverage in bargaining talks.
The association is expected to meet with Vicepresident Angelino Garzon, himself a former union leader, and the transport minister later on Tuesday to try to reach a deal.
"The proposal that we are making is that if they stop blocking the roads, organize a team, a commission so that they talk to the transport minister," district secretary, Olga Lucia Velazquez said. "The minister is always willing to receive them as soon as they unblock the streets."
The government of President Juan Manuel Santos has said it would help transporters renovate and modernize their fleets, and provide technical and legal assistance.
The walkout is producing mixed effects on food prices, a key ingredient of inflation, as some independent truckers fear reprisals if they fail to participate in the strike.
Coffee in Colombia -- the world's No. 3 bean exporter -- moves by road to port and exporters said they are starting to feel a pinch. The walkout follows two years of poor harvests due to bad weather and a tree renovation program.
Colombian bean exporters say the walkout would begin to affect quality if it were to last three more weeks.
While coffee exporters fret over contracts, coal companies in the world's No. 5 coal producer are also worried. Although the bulk of output is moved by train by big producers, such as Cerrejon and Drummond, smaller miners are being hit.
In regions outside of where major exporters operate, output last year was 7.2 million tonnes of which 2.6 million tonnes were exported, according to the mining regulator. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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