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Spanish truckers and bus drivers announce strikes over Christmas
Professional drivers in Spain are demanding earlier retirement and better working conditions
As the country waits in suspense to see if the planned baggage handler strikes at airports across Spain go ahead, more upheaval could be on the cards with the threat of industrial action by truck and bus drivers.
The CCOO and UGT unions, which, coincidentally, are also involved in the airport dispute, have called a general strike in the road transport sector for October 28, November 11, 28 and 29 and December 5 and 9.
Moreover, if their demands aren’t met, they have warned that the work stoppages will continue indefinitely from December 23, a move that will undoubtedly lead to chaos over the Christmas period.
The strikes will involve all professional passenger and freight drivers, which includes city buses.
Across Spain, there are around 250,000 salaried truck drivers, although the unions expect the self-employed to join the strike, so the figure could reach 500,000 workers in all, to which would have to be added the workers of coaches, urban buses and medical transport if they decide to take part. The strike call does not include taxi drivers or VTCs.
The two unions calling the industrial action represent 70% of the employees in the sector.
The aim of the strike, according to the unions, is to secure earlier retirement for professional drivers due to the high rate of accidents among older workers, particularly among those over the age of 55.
“Age is a determining factor in motor skills, sensory and cognitive loss and constitutes a risk not only for the worker but also for the rest of the people,” said Diego Buenestado, UGT’s secretary for road and urban transportation.
The current retirement age for truckers and bus drivers is 67.
The unions have also asked the Spanish government to reduce Social Security payments for this sector, which are six times higher than the average due to work-related accidents and illnesses.
At the moment, the unions are open to negotiating so there’s still time for the threatened strikes to be halted.
The last major strike in the sector took place in March 2022, called by a platform of self-employed drivers. This 20-day work stoppage put the entire distribution chain in Spain in jeopardy, so a strike over this Christmas period would be a disaster.
Image: Archive
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