CETM and Fenadismer, the majority in the National Committee for Road Transport, believe that the current situation does not justify the strike call The companies in the food chain demand that the safety and supply of products be guaranteed The autonomous freight carriers have announced a strike to As of Monday, November 14, due to non-compliance with the law that prohibits working at a loss, the National Platform in Defense of Transport, which last March called the strike that practically paralyzed the transport of goods in the country, returns to the mobilizations. In the early hours of next Monday, a new indefinite strike is expected to start due to non-compliance, they say, with the law that prohibits these professionals from working at a loss. The call has been decided by the provincial assemblies of the organization that represents autonomous carriers, but does not have the support of the main business organizations in the sector. CETM, Fenadismer and Astic, which represent almost 90% of the National Committee for Road Transport, the sector’s interlocutor body with the Government, have already distanced themselves from the strike. They consider that the current situation is very different from that of nine months ago and that it does not justify the announced mobilizations. “During this time, the Government has launched far-reaching measures for the sector. Both of an economic nature, with the approval of two direct aid packages, as well as structural measures such as those that we had been demanding in terms of loading and unloading or the prohibition of contracting trips below cost prices. It cannot be said that we are in the same circumstances”, points out Juan José Gil, General Secretary of the National Federation of Transport Associations of Spain (Fenadismer). This organization, which will hold an assembly with its associates next Wednesday, already anticipates that in all probability he will not support the strike because it is not what the bases are demanding. “We do not believe that this call is going to paralyze transport as it happened in March. We see it difficult feeling the feeling of the sector and less with this haste, unless the pickets act violently, ”he adds. For now, the fear of a repeat of the situation of nine months ago has already led agricultural organizations, associations of the food chain and the hotel industry to request guarantees for the supply of products and raw materials. In addition, they have requested that the “serious” incidents and “violent” episodes that were recorded then not be repeated. Security guaranteesPrecisely, the Spanish Confederation of Freight Transport (CTEM), the majority organization and representative of the large transport companies, has called on the Government that the State Security Forces and Bodies act “with the forcefulness and firmness necessary” to allow that the sector guarantees the supply to the population. “It is shameless that they try to deceive carriers and make them believe that the only solution is to paralyze their trucks, putting populist messages and misleading arguments on the table, since minimum rates cannot be established, as the National Competition Commission has recalled on numerous occasions”, CTEM said in a statement. In it, it is also considered “unfortunate that changes are required, harming the colleagues themselves who are within their right to continue with their services before this call” and they recall that in the past strike in March there were situations in which they were attacked “ against the livelihood of many people, since there were tires, punctured, broken windows, wrecked vehicles, etc., and many professional drivers who were simply doing their job were put in danger.” Also from ASTIC, the employers’ association that represents to the largest international transport companies by career, have demanded that the Executive guarantee the fundamental rights of carriers who decide not to support the indefinite strike that will start on November 14. “Many of our transport companies, which number more than 21,000 heavy vehicles, were unable to carry out their work normally in March. Some due to the violent action of the pickets, which cut off highways and accesses to loading and unloading areas; and others because, due to duress or fear, they decided not to take their trucks out on the road. We hope that this time the Ministry of the Interior will not allow it, if necessary, “says Ramón Valdivia, executive vice president of the association. Negotiations with the Government None of these business organizations in the sector share the demands of the Platform to call the strike. On the contrary, they all consider that the degree of compliance with the agreements is satisfactory and point out that the problems that remain to be resolved must be addressed at the CNTC’s negotiating table with the Government, in which the Platform is not present. They ensure that the measures agreed, such as the Law of the Transport Chain, the obligatory nature of the transport price revision clause due to the variation in the price of fuel, the reduction of waiting times, the monthly return of professional diesel, or the reduction of 20 cents/liter of fuel (which will be announced in the coming days if it is maintained beyond the end of the year) have meant very important advances for the sector that need time to finish being implemented. However, the person in charge of the Platform calling for the strike, Manuel Hernández, argues that at this time the self-employed do not have the capacity to face the increase in costs and that the situation is causing the closure of 200 small transport companies per month. “We don’t have time. Every day that passes there are business tragedies, but also family ones, because there are cases of suicide,” he warned. The Minister of Transport, who had already offered “dialogue” to the Platform to resolve the ” small imbalances” that were taking place, has appealed to the responsibility of the conveners to avoid the strike and has encouraged them to denounce and identify those who break the law so that inspection and sanction procedures can be initiated in the corresponding cases.