MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguayan truckers reach agreement, lift strike and road blockades

Time to “make up for lost time,” said the agro-exporters who rely on truck services to ship their goods overseas

Paraguayan lorry drivers and authorities from the Government's National Directorate of Transport (Dinatrán) have reached an agreement among all parties involved, which resulted in the lifting of the road blockades and other measures encouraged by the truckers' union.

After more than 20 days of bargaining over a fairer price for freight, following an increase in the price of petrol and the non-compliance of other accords, particularly on the part of agro-exporters, a solution has been reached and a memorandum of understanding was signed late Thursday at the headquarters of the Undersecretariat of State for Taxation (SET)

“The National Government, with the mediation of different institutions, manages to lift the truckers' strike, after signing the memorandum of understanding on the price of the freight,” confirmed the National Directorate of Transport (Dinatrán) through its Twitter account.

Óscar Oué, head of the SET, also highlighted the lifting of the strike, noting that it was “the result of the meeting of the Technical Committee for Freight Transportation.”

The proposal put forward by the Technical Committee for Cargo Transportation is a 30% increase over what the truckers had been earning, which makes up for the rise in fuel.

Back on Wednesday, the parties had already spoken of a principle of agreement, although some unions insisted on the need for the Senate to pass the bill to set the price of the freight.

The strike is believed to have caused daily losses worth around the US $ 30 million.

Ángel Zaracho, head of the Federation of Truckers of Paraguay, said he was pleased with the agreement with the agro-exporters union and thanked President Mario Abdo Benítez for his support.

The Technical Committee for Freight Transportation had been created through a presidential decree.

“We are aware that the country is going through a crisis, now we have to move forward,” said Zaracho during a press conference.

Regarding the departure of trucks from the Costanera de Asunción, he pointed out that arrangements were being worked out with the Municipal Traffic Police to establish a departure time and thus avoid possible inconveniences to regular traffic.

The agro-exporters also highlighted the agreement, noting that “the path of dialogue” should never be abandoned. Now they hope to “make up for the lost time.”