Blockades at Puerto Santo Tomas

In protest against the slow pace with which procedures are processed at customs offices, a group of customs managers and truck drivers have blocked off the entrance to the terminal facilities.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Soy502.com reports that on Friday afternoon "... a group of about 350 people blocked access to facilities of the Port of Santo Tomas de Castilla." The blockades started on Wednesday, March 9, causing delays and discomfort for exporters and importers.

In a statement sent to the Guatemalan media, port users argued that there is a lack of management and supervision of middle management in port operations, causing "labor anarchy, supported by some of the labor organizations."

In addition, they also reported that lack of a preventive maintenance programs is preventing use of equipment and machinery needed to meet the requirements of users.

Lack of staff at the Superintendency of Tax Administration, SAT, is another of the problems raised by demonstrators, which is causing delays in the process and ultimately raising costs.

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