Financial aid deal reached between Spanish government and truck driver employers

Employers associations for truck drivers and the Spanish government have reached a deal on financial aid packages after almost two weeks of strike action from the sector, threatening serious complications with supply chains. 

The deal will see direct aid of €450 million for the sector, while authorities will also cover 20 cents on the litre of fuel prices for truck drivers. Officials estimate that in total, the aid package will be worth around €1 billion. Of the 20 cents, 15 will come from the public budget and 5 will be assumed by oil companies. This bonus will apply to diesel, petrol, gas and 'adblue'. 

However, truck drivers themselves reject the deal, calling it "another trap for the industry." The spokesman for the Platform for the Defense of the Transport Sector, José Fernández, said on Friday morning that subsidies such as this are not among the demands of the striking truck drivers, because they point out that this would be "paid by taxpayers."

Fernández, speaking on Spanish radio station Cadena SER, claimed that the sector could be "maintained on its own" and "with dignity," and questioned what guarantee truckers have that fuel prices don't soar in the coming weeks beyond €2.50 per litre.

On Thursday, Manuel Hernández of the Transport Defense Platform criticized the Spanish government in an interview with Rac1 radio station for not speaking with workers and unions directly, but instead only dealing with employers' associations. "I don't understand why authorities don't deal with the problem and call us to come meet with them at the ministry," he said. 

The overnight deal struck with employers associations would save around €700 per month per truck, as estimated by Spain's Ministry of Transport. The deal proposes that the reduction in fuel prices be valid from April 1 to June 30, and will be extendable.

After learning about the truck drivers' rejection of the deal, Spain's transport minister Raquel Sánchez said that she is ready to meet with members of the Platform for the Defense of the Transport Sector. 

"If I have to explain to representatives of the Platform I will do so," she said when asked in an interview with Onda Cero about whether she would receive the members of the entity, who will protest in front of the ministry on Friday.

Sánchez has called on all truckers to "read the agreement", which she said is "useful and effective" and which contains the demands of the sector, including those of the Platform.  

Strike

The price of fuel has increased rapidly ever since the war in Ukraine began, leaving truck drivers to pay significantly higher operating costs to do their work, for which they had not received any support up to now. 

The situation had become so strenuous for them that they kicked off an indefinite strike early last week, performing various protests such as blocking the entryways to facilities such as Barcelona Port, Tarragona Port, and the Mercabarna wholesalers.

Impact on industries

The strike is having a significant impact on a number of industries that have not been able to transport goods and materials as normally expected. 

AECAVA, an employer association in the cava sector, told the Catalan News Agency that the arrival of glass bottles to cellars has been seriously affected by the strike action, as suppliers from places like Burgos do not have transporters to distribute the products.

This has forced the winemakers to send empty trucks from Catalonia at an added cost that in some cases reaches 35%, according to the president of the employer group, Damià Deàs.

AECAVA regrets that this increase in spending comes in the midst of escalating energy prices and after a general rise in the price of raw materials. All in all, they estimate that the retail price of the bottles will rise "between 10 and 12%."