The transport driver's strike is all but over after the government announced on Wednesday night that 88% of contractors had signed up to their proposals. Only two companies are holding out.
Police had already stepped in to escort convoys of fuel and produce and had broken up barricades that closed the routes into major cities including the ports of Alicante and Valencia.
However, that was too late to stop people from panic buying in the shops and at the petrol stations. Some supermarkets were left with no fresh food on their shelves by Monday lunchtime. Milk, bread, vegetables, fish and meat were cleared off the shelves by panic buyers who overfilled trolleys in fear that they would be left without.
When we visited Carrefour yesterday, we found it unusually quiet for a Friday - probably because so many had stockpiled for a siege on Monday. The superstore didn't seem to have a problem; even their petrol station was open. Mercadona though were low on fresh produce, probably because their supply chain had been targeted by the strikers.
Meantime there have been some serious consequences. Fresh produce which has been picked may well have to be dumped as it rots in the heat and millions of day old chicks have perished because they weren't delivered to the farms for rearing on.
A 43-year-old driver was asleep in the cab of his vehicle at the Mercadona depot in San Isidro, Alicante, when it was attacked in what was described as “an act of terrorism” Thursday morning. He escaped with 25% burns to his body and is now recovering satisfactorily in hospital.
No comments:
Post a Comment