The stoppage of carriers since midnight threatens to cause shortages

The carriers are summoned by the Platform for the Defense of the Freight Transport Sector to support, from this midnight, an indefinite strike in the face of the “very serious situation in the sector and inadmissible working conditions.”

The convening platform, a minority and without representation in the sector’s dialogue body with the administration – the National Committee for Road Transport (CNTC) – has sent a long list of demands to the Ministries of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Labor and social economy, such as Prohibition of contracting road freight transport services below operating costs.

The platform justifies the strike in the fact that the administration “continues to negotiate with the shippers (who are the members of the National Transportation Committee) instead of responding to the calls for help from the real protagonists of the sector, who are the truckers of a foot”.

The convening organization

According to what they say, this organization is “formed, directed, accredited and legitimized by the base sector, which is the one that really owns and runs the trucks (medium and small companies and drivers), which in turn is 90% of the vehicles materially carrying out the activity”.

On the other hand, the large employers in the sector, despite warning of the brutal escalation in energy prices, aggravated in recent weeks by the war situation that is taking place at the international level, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, do not support the strike called by the platform.

And they have warned, like the Government, about the messages on social networks that announce possible shortages due to the effect of the strike and call for calm because they defend that they will not occur. Sources from the Ministry of the Interior have assured that the security forces will carry out the necessary operation to guarantee normality on the roads.

The Spanish Confederation of Freight Transport (CETM), the majority, with 65,000 companies and 260,000 vehicles, 80% of the Spanish fleet, considers that this is not the time to strike and asks the Government to reinforce the actions of the security forces to avoid problems on the roads starting this Monday.

For its part, Fenadismer has asked to respect carriers who decide to join the strike and also those who choose to continue providing their activity. According to this organization, the situation has become unsustainable due to the unstoppable and daily increase in fuel prices.

fuel cost

The situation has become unsustainable for carriers due to the unstoppable and daily increase in the price of fuel, which currently already represents more than 50% of the operating costs of the activity. The International Road Transport Association (ASTIC) has warned of the economic debacle, due to the shortage of all kinds of goods, which we Spaniards could face if the Government does not immediately adopt exceptional measures to help companies in the sector.