Finally there will be a strike by the hauliers’ employers. This Monday 14 November, from midnight, the Platform for the Defence of the Road Freight Transport Sector intends to bring the country to a standstill, just as it did for 20 days in March. And it is doing so on the eve of Black Friday and the Christmas campaign.
To begin with, it has very little support and a great deal of rejection from the eleven organisations in the sector represented in the National Road Transport Committee (CNTC). And from the agri-food industry, logistics, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE), the self-employed association ATA… All of them believe that the call for a strike at such a delicate time as this is “unjustified” and advocate dialogue with the Executive led by Pedro Sánchez.
The Ministry of Transport met with Plataforma spokespersons on Thursday. They did so for information purposes and not to negotiate, according to Ministry sources. In fact, there were no Transport executives, but rather technicians explaining the measures that the government is already implementing, as opposed to what is being advocated by those calling for the strike.
It should be remembered that Plataforma denounces that the Decree-Law approved last August to prevent the sector from working at a loss is not working. They allege “non-compliance” on the part of the shippers and inaction on the part of the government in this situation.
The government defends the opposite. In other words, that it is being complied with. They claim that the inspectorate is already acting to ensure compliance. In addition, they added that “an inspection plan 2023 will be approved in the coming weeks to reinforce the actions, as it will include, for the first time, a specific line of action to control prices, late payments and loading and unloading, in accordance with the approved regulations”.