Factories close, supermarkets empty and jets run out of fuel as truckers' strike bites
Pastor Dale Morgan
Factories close, supermarkets empty and jets run out of fuel as
truckers' strike bites*
* Graham Keeley in Barcelona
* The Guardian,
* Thursday June 12 2008
Strike action by thousands of Spanish and Portuguese truckers produced
ominous knock-on effects on food supplies, aviation and industry
yesterday, as Lisbon airport ran out of fuel, car factories shut down
and petrol stations and supermarkets reported shortages.
In a worrying sign for other European countries that face rising
discontent at the spiralling cost of diesel, a third day of strikes
generated widespread mayhem and the mood turned ugly after the first
casualties of the standoff: two strikers died in clashes on picket lines.
Tourists flying to Lisbon faced delays after the airport ran out of
fuel. Some flights were diverted to Porto. Only emergency, military or
state flights were allowed out of Portela airport, a spokesman said.
Only emergency fuel stocks saved Spanish airlines from similar disruption.
Supermarkets, meanwhile, reported dwindling supplies. Authorities at
Spain's two biggest wholesale markets, Mercamadrid, in Madrid, and
Mercabarna in Barcelona, reported deliveries of meat, fish and fruit
were almost at a standstill.
In Barcelona, at a branch of Caprabo supermarket, there was no fresh
fish or meat on the shelves. Shopper María Luz Martínez, 38, said: "The
lorry drivers are looking after themselves while we are all suffering.
But the government doesn't appear to be that interested."
As panic buying among motorists continued, petrol stations were running
dry. Drivers in Lisbon trying to fill up their cars were turned away. In
Spain, "empty" signs hung from pumps at hundreds of stations across the
country. Three car firms, Seat, Nissan and Mercedes, suspended
production because of parts shortages.
Some ferries from the Balearic islands to mainland Spain were cancelled
due to lack of fuel. José María Pozancos, director of Spain's fruit and
vegetable export federation, said the strike was costing the industry
€25m (£20m) a day.
The action is being closely watched in France, Italy, Britain and other
countries where the threat of a similar strike looms. Diesel prices have
shot up on average around 40% over the past year amid record jumps in
oil prices, and truckers say profits have been all but wiped out.
Italian hauliers are planning a five-day strike at the end of the month,
while their British counterparts are targeting central London again on
July 2.
With unions talking of coordinated action in several countries at a time
and policymakers in Brussels refusing to countenance tax breaks, the
fear is that the action in Spain and Portugal could spread. Yesterday
truckers in Thailand used a half-day strike to demand financial help.
As the Spanish government yesterday deployed 25,000 police to clear
major routes, the mood among strikers was increasingly turning bitter.
Scores of pickets were arrested in clashes with police and two drivers
were killed at blockades.
Lorry driver Julio Cervilla Sojo, 47, a father of two, died after being
run over by a lorry which was trying to pass picket lines near Granada
on Tuesday. A man was arrested and appeared in court.
In Portugal, a 52-year-old man was killed on a picket line north of
Lisbon, as he tried to stop a lorry passing a blockade.
Picketers in Spain have thrown stones at lorries trying to pass
blockades. One driver suffered serious burns near Alicante when four
trucks were set on fire.
Hooded strikers in Valencia were photographed brandishing knives. Riot
police cleared pickets blocking routes into major cities and the La
Junquera junction between Catalonia and France.
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the Spanish interior minister, said 51 people
were arrested after violence on picket lines. He said: "There is a
constitutional right to strike. There is no constitutional right to
disrupt people's lives. Therefore, we are going to continue acting with
maximum force and maximum firmness."
For Spain's prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who is already
facing a downturn in the economy since the end of the building boom, the
strike is the most serious bout of industrial unrest since he took power
in 2004.
About 70,000 mostly self-employed drivers from two unions, which make up
about 20% of the industry, are demanding guaranteed haulage rates so
they can offset rising fuel prices. But the government, which has
offered tax concessions to the lorry drivers, opposes fixing guaranteed
rates, saying it would be against EU free-market principles.