Brazilian truckers call strike for November

Truckers in Brazil have called a strike for 1 November to pressure the government to lower fuel costs and improve pay and conditions for drivers.

Three groups are leading the effort: the Brazilian Association of Drivers of Motor Vehicles, the National Council of Road Cargo Transporters and the National Confederation of Transport and Logistics Workers.

This is the first time that the three entities have united on a shared agenda since the truckers' strike of 2018. On that occasion, truckers blocked highways for 10 days in May, affecting transportation in 19 cities across the country and escalating into a crisis for the government.

The three entities gave the federal government a 15-day deadline to meet the truckers' demands. Market participants say the truckers are currently the most aggrieved they have been with the federal government since the 2018 strike.

The main complaint is rising costs, especially of vehicle maintenance and diesel fuel. Since the beginning of 2021 the average price of diesel sold at refineries has risen by 51pc.

At the same time, adherence to a possible truckers' strike is always uncertain. There are many entities representing truck drivers that have diverging views. This makes national mobilization difficult. In recent years, several strikes have been announced, but they did not get enough support to result in a major strike.

Main demands

The entities' main demand is the reduction of diesel prices and the revision of state-controlled Petrobras' pricing policy, known as the import parity price. They also ask for a renewed focus on the application of minimum freight prices, as laid out in a table prepared by the National Land Transport Agency.

It was created after the truckers' strike of 2018, following a request for better pay, but drivers are calling for greater government oversight over the application of the table values and revisions of methodology.

Also on the agenda are labor issues, such as improvement of retirement packages, approval of a new regulatory model for cargo shipments, and the creation of a law to improve and create truck stops and rest points on roads across the country.

By João Petrini