Court in Puerto Plata breaks the monopoly on freight hauling

SANTIAGO. The Labor Court of the judicial district of Puerto Plata eliminated the monopoly that was held by the union of truckers and van men to withdraw merchandise from the docks, which affected dozens of businessmen in the region.

This was reported during a press conference by the president of the Association of Merchants and Industrialists of Santiago (ASIS), Sandy Filpo, who said that with this sentence the court also authorized businessmen to haul their merchandise on their own accounts which is to say with their own vehicles.

"With the sentence issued by judges Carlos Martinez and Andys Mendoza, which cancels the registration that the union possessed, and invites them to create companies for themselves if they wish to continue taking part in the business of carrying merchandise, as established in the Constitution of the Republic, where the existence of monopolies such as they wanted to maintain is rejected," said Filpo.

He made it clear that from now on, any businessman who complies with the norms and regulations that have been established in the law, can withdraw his merchandises using vehicles and the means which he considers prudent.

The president of the ACIS said that with this sentence issued by the Labor Court of the judicial district of Puerto Plata, they have created a precedent in the Dominican Republic which should be imitated by other sectors of the nation.

The president of the ACIS, who was accompanied by business leaders José Octavio Perez, Carlos Guillermo Núñez and Felix Garcia, said that he supported the regulation of the system of double trailers used by heavy vehicles to carry merchandise.

He said that what the AMET should do is regulate this system since it is used by the businesses and merchants as one way to reduce their costs.