RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Operations at Bolivia’s airports were paralyzed this Thursday for several hours due to a workers’ strike that left many passengers affected.
Workers of the Administration of Airports and Auxiliary Services to Air Navigation (Aasana) have been protesting since early morning for a series of demands that they claim the Government has not met, such as a salary debt owed to them for several months.
“They owe us salaries since November to date, which they have been paying fractionally 40%. Therefore we have been forced to take this type of extreme measures of an indefinite strike because we have not been attended to by the Government,” said Jorge Cabrera, the general secretary of Aasana in the eastern region of Santa Cruz.
According to Cabrera, it will depend on Luis Arce’s government to find a “definitive solution”, otherwise the strike will continue.
The sector also demands that the State create a “revolving fund” equivalent to some US$ 9.6 million to reactivate the institution.
In Santa Cruz is Viru Viru, Bolivia’s main international airport, where dozens of passengers could not travel.
Travelers formed a group outside the gates of the airport terminal without entering, while others sat on the sidewalks with their suitcases, resignedly waiting for the conflict to be resolved.
Because of the strike, the delegation of the Bolivian club Always Ready that traveled to Venezuela for a Copa Libertadores match had to turn around and postpone their return until the conflict is resolved.
According to press reports, América de Cali, which arrived in Santa Cruz for a Libertadores match, was also unable to return home.
Aasana workers protested at Viru Viru and also at other airports such as El Alto, which also serves La Paz and the one in the central region of Cochabamba.
Roberto Santa Cruz, a passenger who had a flight scheduled for this morning, lamented in statements that they were kept waiting without explaining an eventual rescheduling of the trips.
Last October, there was already a workers’ strike that paralyzed the airports and achieved some governmental commitments.
Aasana leaders are meeting in La Paz with the ministers of Public Works, Edgar Montaño, and Economy, Marcelo Montenegro.