Tens of thousands of British holidaymakers in Spain face disruption this week as country’s fuel protest starts to bite.
Petrol stations across the country are running low and food has disappeared from supermarket shelves because of the indefinite strike called by Spanish truckers.
Lorries - moving at a snail’s pace - clogged highways leading to and from major cities on Tuesday, the second day of a nationwide walkout over rising fuel costs.
All out: Truck drivers block traffic on the motorway into Madrid
Running low: ‘Out of service’ signs attached to petrol pumps in the Barcelona area as petrol stations run out of fuel
Petrol stations in Madrid and the north-eastern Catalonia region have run out of fuel supplies, and there were fears that thousands of supermarkets could also be affected.
Traffic to and from Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Alicante and other cities was backed up behind trucks, the Interior Ministry’s traffic division said.
Trucks also blocked the Junquera border crossing with France for a second day, allowing only cars to get through.
The ministry opened up three toll roads to try to ease access to Madrid.
Striking truckers - many of whom are independent and self-employed - are demanding minimum, guaranteed haulage rates to offset rising fuel prices and enable them to compete with large trucking companies.
The government has so far held two day of talks with the truckers’ representatives. But it has said that setting guaranteed rates would violate the principle of free market competition.
Gridlock: Truckers in Spain, France and Portugal stepped up protests against rising fuel prices
The strike is the most serious labour unrest that has faced Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero since he came to power in March 2004.
Spanish fishermen also have been on strike since May 30 to protest rising fuel costs.
Spain is struggling with an economic slowdown after a decade-long boom in the real estate sector came to a halt.
Meanwhile a similar truckers protest was taking place in faraway Hong Kong, with truck drivers in a go-slow strike to disrupt traffic and protest rising fuel costs.
About 300 marched to Hong Kong’s government headquarters and demanded that fuel taxes be slashed on Tuesday.
Shortages: Women walk past empty meat shelves in a supermarket during a transport strike in Aranjuez, near Madrid
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