March 30th was the date agreed upon between the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) and the company Placosa S.A. de C.V. for the payment of more than 10 million pesos to the truckers working on the overpass construction at the Fonatur Roundabout, but the payment was not made.
Starting April 1st, the group of freight truckers affiliated with the Autonomous Confederation of Workers and Employees of Mexico (CATEM) decided to go on strike until the payment was made. This Monday, April 6th, having received no concrete response, they began a road blockade.
This was a partial blockade of the Transpeninsular Highway in the direction from San José del Cabo to Cabo San Lucas, in the area of the overpass construction. This closure caused traffic congestion in the opposite direction of the highway.
The initial protest by truckers began on March 17th, when they demonstrated peacefully through a work stoppage. They later considered a blockade on the 18th, but suspended it after a commitment was made to cover the outstanding debt by March 30th, an agreement that was ultimately not honored.
Lucía Sánchez, the CATEM representative at the Secretariat of Political Action, stated that despite previous meetings and agreed-upon dates in working groups, the company failed to make the outstanding payment to the more than 50 workers, which led to the decision to block the road.
“The truckers no longer believe empty promises. Many things have been said that haven’t been fulfilled, which is why we are demonstrating here, holding a protest that we had already mentioned, but it’s not being fully implemented. It’s only happening partially, and we are here as a union supporting the truckers who are owed 10 million pesos,” Sánchez stated.
At 12:40 this Monday, the Municipal Government reported that they managed to get the transporters to lift the blockade by covering part of the debt; however, CATEM has not officially reported anything.
Source: oem
