The bosses’ strike continues, but the carriers’ protest loses strength after the agreement reached last Friday between the central government and the National Committee for Road Transport (CNTC). A pact that was not accepted by the National Transport Platform, convener of the strike, which since then has maintained its purpose of moving forward with its demands. However, beyond that intention to continue with the protest, the truth is that the image of this Monday was that of the return of a certain normality to the roads throughout Spain, something that was also noticeable in Extremadura.
The workers in the sector who have decided to resume their activity, yes, continued to find some yellow vests on the horizon at the information pickets located at crossroads and accesses to towns in Extremadura since March 14, the day the protest began. In the Badajoz municipality of Don Benito, some transporters still resisted yesterday in the access to the town from the Miajadas highway or in roundabouts such as the one at the bullring that connects with Medellín and the N-430 highway. But even in those pickets, a greater movement of trucks was already recognized, which, in his opinion, will be punctual.
“People are desperate and go to work, but I imagine that when they have been working for a week, they get home and do the math, they are not going to rent,” says José María Porro, one of the carriers who followed yesterday in one of the pickets in Don Benito along with a dozen companions. “If nothing changes, in a few days it will return to the same situation as on the 14th because taking a trip will continue to cost you money,” he assures.
This truck driver maintains that he remains unemployed because he sees the measures announced by the Government as insufficient, “they are crumbs and with that we are not able to cover the costs; there is no signed agreement, nor do we know how we are going to receive this aid that they are going to give us, in addition, it is not only the price of diesel, it is everything that the activity entails: wheels, AdBlue, fuel, insurance, parts, spare parts…
Germán Martínez, spokesman in Extremadura for the platform that maintains the strike, expresses himself in the same way: “We are still waiting for a written proposal to arrive with a Royal Decree that guarantees us that we are not going to work at a loss.” That written commitment is the condition of the carriers represented by this group that last Saturday also demonstrated in Villanueva de la Serena after participating in the massive protest held the day before in Madrid. “We know that in the short term a law cannot be made, it is understandable that it is not something that can be done from one day to the next, but a Royal Decree can,” says Martínez who, despite yesterday’s atmosphere, does not rule out new demonstrations in the region this week.
For its part, the Association of Carriers of Extremadura (Asemtraex) maintains the position approved by its partners on March 21 in support of the strike promoted by the National Transport Platform, although it recalls that the right to work of those companies that want to work
right to work
“We ask that the right to work of our members and non-members who want to work voluntarily be also recognized, that is, we do not subscribe to the use of pickets that pressure people or that cause harm,” insists Alonso Sánchez, general secretary of Asemtraex, which rules out changes in the group’s position until a new assembly of this association, which represents some 650 companies and around 3,500 vehicles, is held.
The truth is that the feeling was also yesterday of greater movement on the roads of the province of Cáceres, both small delivery trucks and large vehicles.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.