Fuel up: Price fears hit Spain after strike called

A PROPOSED strike by a Spanish freight union over the rising costs of fuel has sparked fears of fuel and food shortages, as well as even higher petrol costs.

On Thursday, March 10, the Platform for the Defense of the National and International Road Freight Transport Sector announced an indefinite national transport strike beginning at midnight on Monday, March 14.  They are urging the government to intervene to cap the maximum fuel prices paid by freight carriers after the war in Ukraine pushed prices in some areas to an all-time high.

The last time a national freight strike took place over fuel costs in June 2008, large queues accumulated at petrol stations, while prices rose even further.  The strike also prompted food shortages in Spain.

Fuel prices have been rising across Europe since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, with the price of diesel rising by 20.2 per cent in just two weeks.

The news of the proposed strike next week has already caused concern among some industry insiders that this could push the cost of petrol to €2.50 a litre.

While no other transport unions have yet announced plans to join Monday´s strike, the Association of International Road Transport (Astic) has warned of the “economic disaster and shortages” that Spain faces if the Government does not “immediately” adopt measures to alleviate the effects that high fuel prices are causing in the sector.

Speaking about the strike, a source also told one publication that the union planning it, “is not very representative, it is not even part of the carriers’ association, but the strike they are planning for next Monday could cause real chaos, since just a couple of trucks are enough to block the entrance to a gas station or a hydrocarbon distributor doors.”

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