Transport strike in Spain increases pressure on supply

The strike by a part of Spanish carriers that has been affecting the supply chain in Spain for a few days is putting many sectors in trouble, in a context that is already tense due to rising prices and energy.

The strikers, who respond to the call of a single minority organization, have been demanding since Monday measures to deal with an increase in diesel prices that put them in a “catastrophic” situation.

The movement has been tightened since Wednesday with multiple blockades and forceful actions, mainly in industrial or commercial areas, and in ports.

These “violent and undemocratic” acts are “causing serious damage to the supply chain in sectors such as industry, commerce and the agri-food sector,” which have already been affected by the bottleneck created by the resumption of economic activity following the coronavirus pandemic, denounced Thursday the CEOE (Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations), the main Spanish employers' organization.

As a result of the strike, the National Federation of Dairy Industries (FeNIL) announced on Thursday that many of its affiliates had stopped production. Milk is “perishable” and it is “necessary to collect it every day”, something that is not possible without the free movement of trucks, regretted its general director, Luis Calabozo.

Pedro Sánchez's government also condemned the blockades.

“We see violent acts by a minority that prevents other truck drivers from working to guarantee us food and basic necessities at such a difficult time,” left-wing government spokeswoman Isabel Rodríguez lamented on Twitter.

The executive has been facing growing social unrest since the end of the year due to rising prices, reflected in inflation that reached 7.6% in February, a record in 35 years.

This situation led the two main unions, CCOO (Workers' Commissions) and UGT (General Union of Workers), to call a national strike on Wednesday, March 23 against rising prices. For its part, the far-right party Vox asked its supporters to demonstrate against the government on Saturday in front of the country's municipalities.

On Wednesday, the executive promised measures to reduce energy and fuel prices, but without giving details.

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, began a European tour on Wednesday to enlist the support of several of his counterparts for a joint response by the European Union to the increase in these prices. In the absence of an agreement, Madrid would adopt its own measures.

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