Regional passenger carriers prepare nationwide strike in Latvia

The Latvian Association of Passenger Carriers (LPPA) plans to hold a nationwide protest on September 16. It will be attended by carriers with long-term contracts for 10 years, the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti”.

The photo is illustrative in nature

The provision of public transport services ordered by the state will be suspended for one day. About 5 thousand regional bus flights are under threat of cancellation, which may affect up to 100 thousand passengers, BelTA writes with reference to the Latvian media.

The LPPA said that the negotiation process lasts more than a year: carriers have repeatedly submitted calculations and proposals, but the Ministry of Transport of Latvia has not yet found a solution for indexing long-term contracts taking into account changing economic conditions. The president of the association, Ivo Oscheks, noted that carriers do not want to protest, but seek to achieve a solution. He also urged not to postpone the adoption of measures so that in the autumn, after the elections to the Seimas, the financial situation of the industry did not become even more critical. The head of the LPPA stressed that the purpose of the action is not to create difficulties for passengers, but to provide stable and affordable services in the regions.

At the same time, the association is demanding an urgent increase in funding to cover increased costs and compensate for the rise in fuel prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East. According to carriers, the terms of existing contracts were prepared under a completely different economic situation: since the filing of tenders, fuel has risen in price by more than 56 percent, and overall inflation has reached 38.1 percent. As a result, the price of the service prescribed in the contracts no longer covers the real costs.

Oshcheks said that the state should move from pre-election promises to real steps. The association added that the state funding laid for this year initially did not cover the maintenance of the entire existing route network, while the costs of carriers continued to grow.