A convoy of lorries, vans and cars... plus a couple of tractors, gathered in Motril yesterday as part of the ongoing, road-transport strike.

Travelling between Motril and Carchuna, choking the normal traffic, the procession had set off at 17.00h from the Polígono Alborán.

Official, police figures put the number of heavy, goods vehicles at just 25 at the outset of the protest convoy, although other sources put it at much higher.

Once in Carchuna, they met up with farmers who joined them and drove around that area in order to draw attention to their demands – cheaper diesel because the ever increasing price at the pumps is driving them out of business.

One source says that it costs less to hire a lorry to travel down from Granada to Motril than it does to hire a taxi to do the same. This emphasises the fact that road-transport companies have been unwilling to match their prices to the current cost of fuel.

What has caused widespread indignation in the sector is that a Central-Government minister said that the lorry drivers had allied themselves to the extreme right. This comment has seriously backfired, if it were meant to detract from the cause of the sector:

“We are only families that are going hungry who they refuse to listen to,” said one driver concerning the Minister’s words.

Editorial comment: if it were not clear before, it is now crystal clear that without road transport, the whole economy feels the strain, especially for the agricultural sector whose produce has a limited lifespan before it literally has to be dumped.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia –  Photo: Ideal)