Spanish Road Transport strike called for three days before Christmas

Spanish Road Transport strike called for three days before Christmas

The merchandise department of the National Road Transport Committee (CNTC), an entity that brings together all the agents of the transport sector with the Government, has announced that it is “forced to convene a few days of cessation of activity within 24 hours of December 19, and 24 hours on December 22 of this year”.

In its statement, the committee assures that “only a radical and urgent change on the part of the government and clients could avoid this conflict”. They emphasised that the “patience of the sector” has been exhausted , as well as the “reasonable channels of negotiation”.

The ban on drivers loading and unloading lorries has come in for criticism, the non-implementation of the Eurovignette, and the mandatory application of the fuel cost review clause. Also, the construction of “safe” rest areas for freight professionals is also a bone of contention.

Victor Gonzalez, president of the Spanish Federation for Discretionary Freight Transport (FETRANSA), assured 20minutos that “the transport situation is unsustainable”, and that this solution “is not desirable for anyone”.

FETRANSA affirmed that the committee meeting this Wednesday, November 10, between the committee and the General Directorate of Transport was been carried out in a very cordial tone, but that “In terms of content, no progress has been made”.

December’s strike action will not be the first one in the transport sector. In 2018, a similar situation was experienced. “In today’s plenary session of the National Transportation Committee, it was decided to call the strike. The one that was called in 2018 led to some agreements that we consider two years later to have not been fulfilled”, added Gonzalez.

“The Ministry of Transportation knows very well what we need, what we ask for, and what our situation is. We have been talking about this for more than two years and trying through negotiations to promote measures that prevent the collapse of the sector”, pointed out Victor Gonzalez, adding, “the Government must become aware of the extreme situation of a sector that is an essential public service, and whose companies are dying”.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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