Spaniards finally pay up for strike damage
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• Haulier Mick Blunt received almost £17,000 compensation this week for damage caused to his truck during the Spanish haulage dispute in October 1990.
Nine tyres were slashed and Blunt's cab was set alight during the 12-day hold-up at Irun in northern Spain. He is "delighted" with the payment and will not be pressing for further compensation for loss of earnings as he believes he would be wasting his time. The Spanish authorities blame Whittakers of Doncaster for taking too long to complete the repairs, and Whittakers is no longer in business.
Blunt is a member of the hauliers co-operative Owner Operators UK, and says that without the association's backing he would not have been paid a penny. Its staff flew to Spain during the dispute, over haulage rates and diesel prices, and met with the European Parliament's transport committee. Now Blunt is back on the road with his A-reg Mercedes 2028, operating his Rotherham-based firm, Maltby Transport.
He plans to avoid northern Spain in future and has been warned by fellow drivers that the Spanish hauliers have made threats against him, "It's crazy because they are fighting for the same things I am," says Blunt. "If they had asked me to help I would have parked my lorry in front of the town hall."