I can see the A7 from my house, and traffic here looks fine, usual amount of wagons on the go, so the strike is probably very sporadic to say the least.
But then it would do wouldn’t it 
They mean business 
Well both major borders are closed and there have been instances reported of bricks hanging from bridges in the Madrid area, apart from that the Basque region is very quiet I have a truck running around doing collections with no reported problems and have 3 more driving between Irun and Valladolid also with no problems, apart from that I have 3 trying to unload in Madrid area but I told them to park up once I heard about the bricks, 2 drivers living in Madrid I have told to stay at home, and 2 in Madrid that managed to unload are making their way towards Logrono using the back roads.
bazfrombenidorm:
I can see the A7 from my house, and traffic here looks fine, usual amount of wagons on the go, so the strike is probably very sporadic to say the least.
I can see the A7 from my balcony too (the Andalucia end) - and i can tell you that after stood watching it for at least twenty minutes I didnt see a single truck, the biggest thing moving was a transit size van.
The Spanish TV news:
The headline reads: The transport strike blocks roads across all Spain.
The rest: Trucks have cut off access at the frontiers at Irun and La Jonquera and convoys off trucks have blocked roads in Madrid, Valladolid, Valencia and Barcelona. The minister of the interior has assured citizens that petrol will still be available. (How he can say that is anyones guess - but he is a politician!)
so from what i read vascoingles doesnt support the action.we take it he wont be usin the cheaper diesel their fightin for then.
it looks as if one of Continental Express’s trucks has had a battering - Ive heard on the grapevine from Gibraltar one arrived sometime today with all the windows smashed in - as yet I cant verify the story.
Lets hope the drivers werent hurt, although I have to say I think they were very foolish to run the gauntlet all the way down here - are they on bonus??
as has been said already a majority of the strikers are owner drivers, are they all going to sign up to a promise not to keep undercutting each other so they can get better rates to try and cover the increases in fuel.
vasco probably knows as anyone with any sense does, the government will give in after a few days and promise the strikers the earth.
the strikers will then go home slapping themselves on the back on how they smashed this truck and that truck and beat the government.
a couple of months down the line the government will say they’ve tried but can’t give the strikers what they promised and they’ll enter into negotiations with the unions.
end result = they’ll have the same as before they started.
Another smart post from bickusdickusgb !!!
At least they are trying something, unlike you, sitting on your spineless ■■■ again deriding other people.
Shame on you…
steve the argonaut:
Another smart post from bickusdickusgb !!!At least they are trying something, unlike you, sitting on your spineless ■■■ again deriding other people.
Shame on you…
I wouldn’t say that he is about right it has happened before with exactly the same results… zilch why because Madrid like London is powerless to do anything without the ok from Brussels 
.
Add to this it is only the OD’s who are on strike yes the same OD’s who buy 500bhp motros with all the trimmings and thencomplain thatthey can’t make the job pay 
.
As a company we have had no problems at all in passing the rising price of diesel on to the customer and for so long as I have been running the shop here in Lasarte I can only remeber 2 customers who refused to pay and to tell the truth I do not miss there 10 pallets a week at all.
So long as the situation persists where OD’s and small companies will continue undercutting each other to the point of actually acceppting loads that cost them money instead of making it the situation will never change.
The answer is common sense not governmental intervention, if it doesn’t pay don’t load it, as soon as enough of them refuse to take the cut price loads the price will rise .
Vascoingle is right in every aspect of his post, this principle of might is right is always wrong. It is true for fisherman as it is for drivers as it is for farmers. If the only way you can make your point is by disrupting other peoples’ lives, endangering other peoples’ lives or wrecking their businesses, then it is wrong.
And when the end result is a foregone conclusion it is wicked as well.
I have every sympathy with people who feel they have nothing else to lose, but to do the same to innocent others is not the answer.
As far as hauliers demanding governmental action to stop free competition is concerned they are living in cloud cuckooland, that was outlawed years ago. I had an RHA rates guide back in the 70s which was quite a useful yardstick but they were forbidden from publishing it again.
steve the argonaut:
Another smart post from bickusdickusgb !!!At least they are trying something, unlike you, sitting on your spineless ■■■ again deriding other people.
Shame on you…
grow up mate, just because somebody doesn’t agree with you doesn’t mean you have to throw your dummy out of the pram.
its people like you stupidly commenting on things you know little about that spoils these forums.
you support them all you want my friend, just bear one thing in mind,
if they get what they want which they wont, its your job affected because they’ll be able to undercut the brits even more.
think about it,
if your brain can stretch beyond the “lets all strike and show them how tough we are” mentallity
I take you two dont agree with the strike and why they are doing it ?
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7443257.stm
The drivers want the Spanish government to establish, by law, a minimum price for their services, and to ensure that haulage contracts better reflect the fluctuating cost of fuel, which has risen by more than 20% since the start of the year
Doesnt the above make sense ? or is it the case that because you are not affected you dont agree with the strike ?
Isnt this strike all about the small hauliers survival ?
Isnt this what the haulage industry needs in this country as well ?
Correct me if I am wrong, Id be interested
thats a change then, according to hombre on thursday they wanted this
The strike, certainly as far as Andalucia is concerned is INDEFINITE and nothing is going to be allowed to move until such time as the Government reduce (to a pro rata level of a year ago) the price of diesel.
This means that duty on fuel MUST be reduced to the point where we are paying the same per litre as we would have 12 months ago - and we aint giving in!!
i suppose they must have had a rethink.
As a company we have had no problems at all in passing the rising price of diesel on to the customer.
Isn’t EXACTLY that, why Spains economy is the worst its been in 15 years ?
Isn’t the same happening here and Ireland, and everywhere else, soaring food costs ?
Yeh, great ye passed on ye costs but who’s ye customer passed it onto ? back to you Sir, when yer go an do ye grocery shop! so ye aint gained diddly.
routier:
As a company we have had no problems at all in passing the rising price of diesel on to the customer.
Isn’t EXACTLY that, why Spains economy is the worst its been in 15 years ?
Isn’t the same happening here and Ireland, and everywhere else, soaring food costs ?
Yeh, great ye passed on ye costs but who’s ye customer passed it onto ? back to you Sir, when yer go an do ye grocery shop! so ye aint gained diddly.
So what do you expect us to do ? swallow the increase and go bust and put another 150 employees on the dole ?
Individual governments can not reduce the price of diesel they no longer have the power minimum tax rates are set by those in cloud cuckoo land which is in Brussels.
Setting minimum prices does not work either because of the following reasons
- It is impossible to control effectively
- The means to control it do not exist
- There is always someone who will undercut.
The present high price of diesel is not caused by neither the governments or the oil companies it is caused by speculators on the world markets. Which means there is not much that either London, Madrid or Brussels can do about it.
The price of diesel is only part of the reason that making money in transport has become difficult if not nigh on impossible… And protesting only about the price of diesel is closing your eyes to the rest of the operating costs that have increased drastically over the last few years such as
Congestion charges
Euro 1, 2 , 3, 4 , 7 5 engines that become increasingly expensive as soon as they become obligatory.
Digital tachograph which has been proven to steal potential operating time
Reductions in working hours
The employment of extra office personell to control increasing legislation
The drastic increase in overtaking bans throughout the continent which only serve to increase journey times.
The steady increase in driving restrictions due to any old excuse.
The list is endless and a concerted affort at European level is needed to combat all of these points and many others, diesel price is just one and yes the cost does get passed on to the consumer as in any other industry.
routier:
IDoesnt the above make sense ?
No. It has already been tried, in the Soviet Union, and it didn’t work. Free competition or central control - you can’t have it both ways.
or is it the case that because you are not affected you dont agree with the strike ?
No, I am, like everyone else, affected by rising fuel prices. I don’t agree because it is counter productive and immoral to endanger lives and ruin businesses because some people can’t hack it in the real world.
Isnt this strike all about the small hauliers survival ?
Isnt this what the haulage industry needs in this country as well ?
Correct me if I am wrong, Id be interested
You stand corrected. 
As always a healthy debate!! My views are I would think fairly plain to see - I am fully in favour of the strike. The reasons are quite simple. Personally I have been affected by many of the factors mentioned by Vascoingles and as a result been made redundant - twice.
By making a stand and effectively bringing Spain to a halt we will at least open Madrids eyes to the seriousness of the problems faced by hauliers here and maybe, just maybe, Zapatero and his oppos might force the issue in Brussels. If they do then ALL european hauliers will benefit - not just the Spanish.
The problem with politicians is that they only hear what they want to hear - so sometimes you have to shout and scream and stamp your feet to get them to listen.
One thing is for sure - we have now got their undivided attention. It remains to be seen what the outcome will be.
As a side note, Ive just been out to fill up the scooter - I had to go to 5 filling stations to get any petrol, none had any diesel and all bar 1 had no unleaded 95.
chilistrucker:
so i won’t be going too portugal next week then?
watch this with interest.my boss lives on the algarve, not too far from the border, apparently the bridge at ayamonte is being blocked too.[/quote
I was in ayamonte a couple of weeks back, a cracking place to be stuck in
Plenty of bars / tapas gaffs, right by the river, wicked
I can only assume it is related but In local “overnight” parking areas around where I live there are a few Spanish trucks parked, and have been since early yesterday morning.
A case of hanging around until its safe to go back home perhaps?