The protests of the carriers have continued this Friday, the fifth day of the strike convened by the Platform in Defense of the Road Freight Transport Sector, with an unequal impact depending on the autonomous community and even, within each one, varying by zone. But the strike, which has forced extensive police deployment, is affecting the supply chain, especially for fresh products such as meat, milk, or fish.
The president of the Government, Pedro Sanchez has assured that the Executive feels “empathy” but has also demanded “public order” and has asked “not to fall into a dynamic of violence at a time as difficult as the one Spain is experiencing as a result of the war”, called for the ” responsibility” and “solidarity” to the “minority that acts violently”.
The Minister of the Presidency, Felix Bolanoshas referred to the strikers as “violent and irresponsible” people and has warned that “the tension is now an ally of instability” that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants for European countries.
The Minister of Transport, Rachel Sanchez for his part, has assured this Friday that the situation has improved compared to yesterday, but has insisted that the conflict must be resolved “through dialogue and the adoption of measures” and not “based on intimidation or threats”.
The president of the platform calling for the strike, Manuel Hernández, has asked the drivers of the sector for “firmness and unity”, has urged them “not to fall apart or become demoralized” and has criticized that they are being “attempted to criminalize”.
Pickets, slow marches, and police deployment
The Ministry of the Interior maintains this Friday the security device made up of 23,600 agents of the National Police and the Civil Guard before the strike of carriers, to try to guarantee the supply of essential products to the population and act against possible violent pickets, among the there have been several arrests.
In addition, the slow marches of trucks called by the Platform in Defense of the Road Goods Transport Sector have multiplied in protest against the working conditions of the group and the high prices of fuel.
The strikes are mostly carried out by autonomous carriers or SMEs, who do not feel represented by the National Committee for Road Transport (CNTC) with which the Government is negotiating and which intends to maintain the protest until the Administration sits down with them.
A serious problem for frescoes
The National Association of Meat Industries of Spain (Anice) ensures that incidents are being reported “constantly” that prevent the entry and exit of company vehicles, logistics centers, and the collection of merchandise “essential for the operation of the food industry and of the entire chain.
The dairy industry is being one of the most affected, and a large Civil Guard device is protecting more than thirty trucks in Córdoba from the Cooperativa del Valle de Los Pedroches (Covap), which are looking for raw materials for the production of milk. I feed the animals.
In Castilla-La Mancha, a convoy from Cartagena with raw material will facilitate the supply of feed; while in Mercamadrid the entry of 68% of its supply vehicles has been registered about the same day last week, which represents an improvement compared to previous days.
Retentions and people detained
In the Baix Llobregat region of Barcelona, fifty truck drivers are leading a slow march of tractor heads through various routes, although the retentions in the early hours of the morning have been the usual ones of a normal day, according to sources from the Servei Català de Trànsit ( SCT).
In the Antequera industrial estate, where several supermarket logistics centers are located, truck drivers from all over Andalusia have also gathered, in a concentration that has taken place without incident, but with a police presence.
In Mérida, a march has also been called at the confluence of the A-5 and A-66, which is complicating access to the regional capital, while in Ciudad Real 400 trucks have also taken to the streets in protest.
Likewise, in Galicia, a caravan made up of a hundred trucks from Tui (Pontevedra) headed this morning for Vigo on the A-55 and ended up collapsing the southern entrance to the city.
In Asturias, the security forces are escorting trucks and vans at the request of professionals who do want to carry out transport, after identifying four violent pickets and nineteen people who threw nails last night at the access roundabout to the supermarket chain’s logistics center Alimerka, in Llanera.
On the other hand, eleven people are being investigated in León for continued crimes of public disorder, damage and against road safety, one person has been arrested for a crime against road safety in Onzonilla, also in the province of León, and has been arrested another in Segovia for trying to attack a truck driver.
The Government delegate in Extremadura, Yolanda García Seco, has confirmed that there have already been several arrests due to picketing, some of which have been brought to justice.