An invitation to the taxi drivers union to sit at a dialogue table and move forward in resolving their requests instead of affecting the country’s economy by mobilizing the sector, formulated this Tuesday the Vice Minister of Transportation, Carlos Enríquez Caicedo .
“As a National Government we are respectful of the mobilization. But what we tell them (to the taxi drivers’ union) is ‘let’s get ahead of the facts’ because, in general, these mobilizations end up in dialogue tables. The invitation is: ‘let’s sit down now and avoid affecting the country’s economy,’ said the official.
Vice Minister Enriquez recalled that the National Government has had a very good dialogue with the taxi driver sector with which a 17-point agreement was signed, among which there are two that are the reasons for the call for a strike in the sector.
The sensitive points are the preferential rates for the price of gasoline and the issue of illegality in the sector.
The Vice Minister recalled that in response to the demand from the taxi drivers’ representatives for the issue of informality in the sector, he invites a review of the activities carried out by the three previous governments to see that they tried to solve the issues, but were unsuccessful.
Gasoline hike affects the yellow union
Faced with the issue of the rise in the price of gasoline, another of the points invoked by taxi drivers to justify the strike, the official recalled that the Stabilization Fund does not allow for a differential price in the price of gasoline. Either this government subsidizes gasoline or it does works that benefit the country, ”he recalled.
Enríquez Caicedo recalled that since President Gustavo Petro’s first meeting with the representatives of the taxi drivers’ union, the Government of Change has been fulfilling its commitments. “The President promised to review the SOAT and there is already a 50% discount on the SOAT in favor of the sector.”
“In the same way, regarding the issue of the occasional travel form, another of the taxi drivers’ requests has already been advanced. We made the decision, by instruction of the President, to increase the occasional travel forms from six to twelve, which allowed them to obtain more income, ”he said.
The Vice Minister recalled that the National Development Plan ‘Colombia World Power of Life’ included an article that addresses another of their demands: moving vehicles that have completed their useful life towards electric vehicles”. And that the Transport portfolio is working on building a platform for the sector.
On July 20, the National Government will present to Congress the draft Penalty Regime and the National Traffic Code, which includes other requests from the taxi drivers’ union.
Finally, Enríquez Caicedo urged taxi drivers to be consistent in the face of dynamic rates and the use of digital platforms.
Source: Ministry of Transport