Portugal drivers end fuel strike

by Dave Keating | June 12, 2008 at 03:34 am

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Protests continue throughout Europe by truck drivers and other people who depend on their vehicles for their livelihood against rising fuel prices. In Portgual, the organized protest by truck (lorry) drivers there has now ended.

Portuguese lorry drivers have ended their strike against rising fuel prices, after a union reached a deal with the government.

The distribution of food and fuel is expected to resume in the country within the next few days.

But the hauliers' strike in Spain is continuing, entering its fourth day.

Strikers say the price of diesel has soared by more than 20% this year. They want a minimum price for haulage, to prevent firms from being undercut.

Despite the continuing strike, access routes to Spain's big cities and the borders are open and traffic is normal, the government said.

More than 6,000 lorries are travelling under police escort, while some 70 people have been arrested for strike-related violence, the interior ministry said.