Colombia’s truckers’ association (ACC) ended a four-day strike on Tuesday after having reached a deal with the government on gasoline prices.
On Tuesday morning, government negotiators agreed to lower the price of gasoline by $0.087 cents per gallon starting on Wednesday. In April, the price will be lowered by a further $0.042 cents per gallon, Colombia’s ministry of transport said.
The Colombian government assured that the price will remain steady at $4.58 for the next three months.
The truckers said they originally went on strike to protest “unfair” gasoline benefits given by the Colombian government to the multinational mining firm Drummond.
BACKGROUND: Colombia truckers go on strike
“Drummond pays [$2] per gallon of [gasoline] and the Colombian people pays [$4.69] per gallon,” said a union representative on Monday.
During the transport strike, 140,000 transport vehicles were immobilized, representing some 50% of the ACCs total transport capability. On Monday, the ACC shut down a main road connecting the southwestern cities of Buenaventura and Cali.
Sources
- A camioneros no se les agota el combustible para protestar (Dinero.com)
- Se levanta paro camionero tras acuerdo entre Gobierno y gremio (Caracol TV)
- Camioneros levantan huelga en Colombia tras anulacion de un alza en los combustibles (Terra.com)
