Infrastructure Minister says he sees no risk of truck drivers strike now

Despite threats made this Thursday (10), Minister Tarcísio de Freitas (Infrastructure) says he does not see any risk of stoppage of truck drivers in the country because of the mega-increase in the price of diesel.

Members of the category reacted to the adjustment disclosed by Petrobras on Thursday.

The Minister of Infrastructure told the sheet monitor the situation and says that he received a series of questions from the category throughout the fifth.

“In conversations, although very concerned about the increase, I have noticed that they [os caminhoneiros] are understanding the impact of war. And they are also noticing the effort made by Congress to change taxation and by the government, in terms of studies to mitigate the increase”, says Freitas.

“As this understanding is taking place, I do not see a risk of paralysis at this moment”, he says.

Petrobras announced on Thursday that there will be an increase of 18.8% for gasoline, 16.1% for cooking gas and 24.9% for diesel in refineries.

In the case of diesel, the value will increase by almost R$ 1 per liter, from R$ 3.61 to R$ 4.51.

To the column Mônica Bergamo, one of the main leaders of the 2018 truck drivers strike, Wanderlei Alves, known as Dedeco, said that Brazil has to stop in protest against the increase.

“Autonomous truck drivers and transport entrepreneurs have to unite and stop the country. Nobody will stand it. Carriers that have 500,000 trucks, with thousands of employees to pay, will go bankrupt”, says Dedeco.

As the Panel reported, government officials were uneasy with the messages and audios that circulated on the day of Petrobras’ mega-increase.

The threats that circulated included blockades on BR-163, the soybean highway, in Mato Grosso and Pará, and a strike by “storks” in the ABC region of São Paulo, which would affect the automotive industry. Another leader of truck drivers, Wallace Landim, aka Chorão, said he regretted voting for Bolsonaro in the face of the Petrobras readjustment, as shown by the Sheet.

“I supported Bolsonaro, campaigned for him, and for free. I received the commendation of merit for Mauá, the greatest merit of transport that exists in Brazil, for the services provided to transport. And, in all sincerity, I no longer work for him, I don’t vote for him. Everything he promised us, he didn’t deliver”, said Landim.

Chorão and two other representatives of truck drivers heard by the sheetJosé Roberto Stringasci, from ANTB (National Transport Association of Brazil), and Carlos Alberto Dahmer, from CNTTL (National Confederation of Transport and Logistics Workers), said they had no intention of calling a strike for the category.

They say, however, that they will manifest themselves as members of civil society.

This Thursday, as a measure to try to prevent the increase in fuel prices from being passed on to consumers, Congress approved a bill that changes the collection of ICMS (Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services) on fuels and resets the PIS/Cofins rates to zero. on diesel and gas until the end of 2022, election year.

According to the text of PLP 11, the states must regulate the creation of a single ICMS rate on fuels within the scope of Confaz (National Council for Finance Policy). In addition, the text provides for a change in the rate model, from a percentage on the value (ad valorem) to a fixed value on the liter (ad rem).

The single rate must be applied to gasoline, diesel, ethanol and cooking gas. Initially, it would also apply to kerosene for aviation, but the deputies excluded the possibility. Although unified among the states, the charges may be differentiated by type of fuel, according to the text.

While this is not implemented by the governors, the tax on diesel and biodiesel will have to be levied on a defined calculation basis, obtained by the moving average of the last five years.

The rule, treated as a transition, would be in effect until December 31, 2022. In practice, the text forces an immediate change in the tax.