Rise in fuel will mean rise in fares warn cabbies

North to south, east to west of Majorca yesterday morning, it was nearly impossible to find a taxi with the Palma and outlying district fleets all taking part in the 12-hour strike in protest of rising fuel costs. The industrial action was part of a national strike and according to the taxi companies, the protest was a “100 percent success.” The 12-hour protest reached its climax at mid-day when convoys of taxis rallied in Palma outside the central government delegation and in towns across the island bringing traffic to a standstill. In Palma an official communique calling for a revision of tax on fuel and compensation for the high price of fuel was handed over to central government delegate Catalina Cirer after which the nearly 400-strong convoy headed to the CLH fuel depots in Son Banya and on the Levante industrial estate where the protest continued. Throughout the 12-hour stoppage the EMT Palma public bus company was operating extra services on key routes, such as the airport, and the local police were out in force trying to keep traffic flowing and direct motorists along alternative routes through the city. But, the bottom line for the taxi companies is that further increases in the price of fuel will force them to raise taxi tariffs with the general public being forced to pay the consequences of rising fuel prices in Spain. The head of the Pimem taxi association, Gabriel Moragues admitted yesterday that one of the ideas of the protest was to bring “a bit of traffic chaos to Palma so that the general public understand and realise what is at stake here, but we did not want to do any more damage, even though we could have done.” But “more damage” could be on the horizon as Majorca's taxi drivers are awaiting instructions from the mainland with regards to further national protests. Today is also the final day of the national transport strike with over half of the Balearic haulage sector having been parked up for the past 48 hours. The industrial action, which has been incident-free in the Balearics with haulage unions opting against fuel depot and road blockades, unlike on the mainland, will end at mid-night tonight with the hope that the government will open talks with the unions. But Spanish haulage unions have also taken the matter up with the European Union and talks are going on to secure compensation from Brussels and a special “professional fuel” price.