Entering the third week of the road-transport strike, it has tailed off with 95% of the sector now back on the roads.

Mercamadrid

This turn of events is down to the agreement reached between the Central Government and the Comité Nacional del Transporte por Carretera (CNTC) last week.

The pact, which contains a 20c-per-litre discount on fuel prices and an aid package worth 450m euros, has satisfied almost all strikers.

The association or autónomos (ATA) confirmed that 95% of the 207,000 road-transport workers returned to work yesterday. Its Chairman, Lorenzo Amor, urged those that continue to strike to “let the rest of the sector work.” He also criticised the strikers who had blocked the Ronda Litoral in Barcelona on Monday.

The Chairman of the Union General de Trabajadores, Pepe Álvarez, described the accord as “letting the sector breath,” but at the same time said that the Government’s measures were not enough. He also criticised the “attempt by strikers to paralyse the country.”

He called for a stop to pickets “coercing and causing physical aggression,” to self-employed workers who had no other option than to continue working to stay afloat.

The biggest distribution point in the whole of the country, Mercamadrid, was only down by 7% on their normal, Monday workload, whereas during the darkest days of the strike they were down by 40%

Loses due to the strike have been massive, especially in the case of Andalucía where it is calculated that around 1,000-million euros have been lost.

However, the Plataforma Nacional en Defensa del Transporte, who called the strike, is continuing with strike action until the Minister of Transport agrees to meet with them again. It’s Chairman, Manuel Hernández, says that “he deeply regrets that they have to continue with the strike.”

Editorial comment: you only have to look at what happened in Canada concerning truckers to have an idea of what political affiliation Sr Manuel Hernández has.

(News: Spain)