Truckers Tell Senate: Tariff Law Ignored, Ask for Contracts, Resources and Enforcement

Frente Amplio de Camioneros representatives told a Senate committee on June 4, 2021, that licensed truckers have been sidelined by municipalities and private contractors who award hauling work without respecting tariff schedules and permits, leaving many operators financially unsustainable.

The group asked senators to use Resolution No. 83 as a vehicle to require agencies and municipalities to provide lists of contractors and hauling contracts from the last two years, to forward contracts to the Negociado de Transporte y Otros Servicios Públicos before they take effect, and to supply the Negociado with additional resources to enforce existing law.

The case, presenters said, rests on existing statutes and regulatory instruments. "Las constantes violaciones del gobierno central y municipal a la ley ciento cinco de mil novecientos noventa y seis... han permitido un esquema de corrupción en la otorgación de las subastas," said Carlos Rodríguez, a Frente coordinator, summarizing the group's written submission and earlier circulars from the Negociado.

Witnesses recounted long-running enforcement problems and litigation dating to earlier tariff reforms. Carlos Chetín of Camioneros Unidos said hundreds of complaints filed with the Negociado were not addressed, and that temporary tariffs issued after December 2020 are now the subject of appeals in the courts. "En ese momento se le hace... se hacen unas tarifas temporáneas... y ahora estamos en el foro judicial, estamos en el Supremo," he said.

Senators pressed the witnesses on specific remedies. Sen. Ana Irma Rivero asked who precisely counts as "transportistas." Witnesses listed a broad set of operators — from dump and refrigerated trucks to tow trucks and taxis — and emphasized that the tariff system covers multiple modalities. Rivero and other senators repeatedly asked for the documents the group recommended; the committee gave the presenters five days to submit detailed cost and complaint records.

On the size of the tariff adjustment sought, witnesses and senators discussed a roughly 36 percent increase to account for inflation and years without a comprehensive review. The presenters said a tariff petition filed in 2012 and automatic review obligations after 2005 were not properly implemented. "Después de quince años de una vez revisada... se nos hace justicia por fin," one witness said when describing the requested adjustment.

Frente and allied union leaders also offered operational detail to support their request for higher rates: a refrigerated truck's operating costs were estimated at about $600–$800 per week, and presenters itemized maintenance expenses to illustrate the squeeze on margins. "Un camión aproximadamente entre los seiscientos y ochocientos dólares semanales, mínimo," one trucker testified.

The witnesses urged that pre-clearance of public contracts by the Negociado and the production of municipal contractor lists would help root out "fantasmas" (unlicensed operators) and companies that set their own rates in contravention of tariff rules. They pointed to a recent case in which an assessed fine they regarded as disproportionate appeared to reward repeat violators.

Sen. Rafael Bernabe framed the session as the start of an investigation to identify enforcement and staffing gaps at the Negociado and to evaluate whether mandatory review of public contracts is feasible; senators agreed to collect the documents requested and to continue oversight. The committee then excused the presenters and called the agency representatives to the next panel.

The record shows the witnesses asked for (1) notification and enforcement directives to agencies and municipalities under Law 105 (1996); (2) lists of contractors who won transportation-related public bids in the last two years; (3) copies of hauling contracts; (4) municipal lists of transporters used in the past two years; and (5) additional fiscal and staffing resources for the Negociado to carry out enforcement. The witnesses also said they seek recognition and protection for independent concessionaires against contract consolidation and parallel tariff systems run by private firms or municipal entities.

The committee requested that the Frente deliver the detailed cost and complaint documentation within five days so staff can include it in the committee's investigation and report. No formal votes or motions were taken during the witnesses' appearance.

Asked for comment after the hearing, presenters reiterated that they prefer enforcement and resources for the Negociado to a structural abolition of the agency; they said their principal goal is to see existing tariff rules honored and to restore earnings for independent truckers.

The committee will next hear from the Negociado de Transporte y Otros Servicios Públicos.