A bus drivers’ strike caught São Paulo residents by surprise last Monday, the 19th. The strike lasted about 10 hours and affected more than 267,000 passengers, who faced long lines and delays on the main roads of São Paulo. The main goal of the protest was for employees of the former Transwolff company to demand their labor rights. Here’s what happened:
Bus strike causes traffic delays in São Paulo
Recently, the City terminated its concession contract with Transwolff due to investigations involving the company. Pending the bidding process for a new company to take over the service, the City has assumed management of Transwolff.
Amid the administrative transition, employees claim there are labor issues and are demanding the regularization of benefits. For this reason, they organized a work stoppage that primarily affected the South Zone of São Paulo, where 111 bus routes are operated by the former Transwolff.
Due to the protest, 67 bus routes in the region were suspended from early Monday morning (the 19th) through the afternoon. The situation led to the activation of the Inter-Company Emergency Support Plan (Paese), with buses from other depots taking over the most critical routes until the system returned to normal.
Government authorities claim the strike is illegal: Could drivers face penalties?
The situation was resolved around 1:00 p.m., following a meeting between the bus drivers and representatives from SPTrans. According to the municipal government, payments related to the former Transwolff are up to date; however, they are pending “court approval.” In other words, City Hall asserts that all funds have been transferred but require court approval to be deposited into the employees’ accounts.
Ultimately, the government declared the strike illegal for failing to issue the required advance notice. This is because the Strike Law (7.783/1989) guarantees the right of essential service workers to strike, but strikes must be announced to the public 72 hours in advance. Due to this noncompliance, workers who participated in the strike may have one day’s pay deducted from their next paycheck.
