Acerinox strikers bring chaos to Campo roads

Strikers at the Acerinox plant in the Campo de Gibraltar mounted road blocks in three key junctions on Tuesday morning, bringing rush hour traffic to a standstill and causing gridlock for around six hours on the main road linking both sides of the both.

The workers set up roadblocks at 7am in Algeciras, Palmones and near Los Barrios, and did not lift them until well past midday, leaving thousands of drivers trapped with no alternative but to wait.

This was not the first time workers had cut traffic on key Campo roads, though earlier protests had not lasted as long.

The workers, who have been on strike for nearly two months, are locked in negotiations with Acerinox for a new collective agreement but have yet to reach terms.

Some Campo media reported that the strikers may step up their actions in coming days if there is no progress in the negotiation with the company.

But Tuesday’s chaotic scenes may have undermined goodwill towards their cause in the wider community, with Campo media reporting that many people caught up in the logjam filed formal complaints over what they said was an illegal action that had not been properly announced beforehand.

On Tuesday night, Acerinox Europa condemned the events during the day, which it said had overstepped the limits of legitimate strike action and disrupted the lives of thousands of people.

The company said workers who were meant to provide minimal services during the protests had been prevented from accessing its facilities and that a fire had been started in one of its installations.

The company said it had made a formal complaint to the Guardia Civil and was considering shutting down its Campo facilities in the face of the developments on Tuesday, as well as what steps to take in the mediation process with the workers.