More and more store shelves in Spain remain empty, with milk, yoghurt, fruit and beer, among other things, becoming scarce. But the truck drivers are combative even after the first agreement.
Despite an initial agreement between the government and trade union representatives, there is no end in sight to the 12-day strike by truck drivers in Spain, which has already had serious consequences.
The government-approved aid totaling around one billion euros is just “crumbs and peanuts,” complained Manuel Hernández, the president of the platform for goods transporters, who went on strike because of the rise in fuel prices in the wake of the Ukraine war called for protests.
The agreement between the left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and representatives of the umbrella organization of Spanish trucking companies CNCT was reached early Friday morning after a marathon night meeting. The government announced that a relief of 20 cents per liter of fuel and direct aid of 450 million euros had been agreed. This is aid totaling one billion euros, Sánchez tweeted.
The strike platform, which mainly represents small freight forwarders, is not part of the CNCT. Platform boss Hernández said the government had reached an agreement with the “wrong people”. One will protest until “real solutions” are found for the problems of truck drivers, he said in an interview with radio station RNE. A relief of at least 60 cents per liter of fuel is necessary.
Sometimes drastic supply crisis
Under the impression of a new protest rally on Friday in front of the Ministry of Transport in Madrid, Minister Sánchez then decided at short notice to receive Hernández and other strike leaders. However, the conversation made no progress in the late afternoon. “Unfortunately, the strike will continue,” Hernández told journalists after the meeting. Hopes for an agreement had not been very high anyway, after the minister said before the meeting that she would only “explain the content of the agreement” to the protesters and not make any further offers. According to official estimates, around 4,000 people took part in the rally in Madrid on Friday.
Because of the strike, which began on Monday last week and has recently intensified with blockades of motorways, inner cities, wholesale markets and ports, there is already a sometimes drastic supply crisis in Spain. More and more store shelves remain empty, milk, yoghurt, fruit and beer, among other things, are becoming scarce. Some food factories have already had to close due to bottlenecks in the supply of raw materials. On Tuesday, the food company Danone also warned of a production standstill in its Spanish plants. The VW plant in Pamplona had to temporarily suspend production due to a lack of supplier parts.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
