Spain truckers’ strike disrupts supply chains across sectors
Madrid, Mar 21 (EFE).- Spanish truck drivers returned to the streets Monday for the eight day of an open-ended strike to demand better working conditions amid soaring prices of diesel, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Organizers of the strike, small truck owners group the Platform for the Defence of Transport, are demanding lower taxes and lighter regulations to improve what they have called a “catastrophic” situation for companies.
The strike has caused roadblocks in Spain, disrupting supply chains across all sectors.
The dairy industry has already lost three million liters of raw material since the strike began, forcing some dairy producers to halt production.
The Volkswagen factory in the northern region of Navarra also halted production Monday due to supply shortages while in multiple ports in Galicia, operations have decreased by 10%.
The hospitality sector is also suffering with some establishments in Spain’s southern city of Seville complaining of a shortage of fruit, meat and fish while several gas stations in Murcia have been forced to shut down due to a shortage of fuel supply.
But the truck union said they will not resume activity until their demands are met.
Spain’s ministers of economic affairs, finance and transport met Monday with the National Committee of Road Transport (CNTC) to discuss the matter.
The CNTC said it will not leave the negotiating table until “concrete measures” are agreed on.
Meanwhile, Spanish labor union CCOO has urged the government to take immediate action to mitigate the crisis which is affecting the transport, agriculture and fishing sectors.
Police have arrested 44 protesters since the beginning of the strike and managed to escort over 1,800 convoys of trucks carrying essential goods, the interior ministry reported. EFE
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