Commuters stuck for hours as protests shut roads and spark outrage.
Thousands of drivers travelling between La L铆nea and Gibraltar have been affected by traffic jams. Many people were left stranded in sweltering conditions on Tuesday, June 24, as the ongoing metalworkers鈥 strike in C谩diz brought traffic to a standstill.
Although La L铆nea has no metal industry of its own, it was one of the hardest-hit areas, with major access roads blocked by pickets or closed off by police. Only one alternative, the narrow Higuer贸n road, remained open, but it quickly became jammed with cars, leading to delays of over four hours for some drivers. Some people even missed their flights.
Blocked roads and boiling frustration around Cadiz
The indefinite strike began after talks collapsed between unions and employers in the province鈥檚 metal sector between June 18-19. Since June 23, key roads around C谩diz and neighbouring municipalities have been repeatedly disrupted.
According to local reports, around 200 protesters blocked the CA-34 near the Moeve company in San Roque. This caused traffic to back up onto the A-7, creating severe delays in the direction of M谩laga. From around 8am on June 26, only cars exiting La L铆nea were allowed through, leaving everyone else stuck.
Avenida de Astilleros in C谩diz, which runs in front of the capital鈥檚 Navantia factory, was closed to traffic from 7:15 am on June 26, despite the absence of barricades or disturbances. The two bridges were open for traffic. In Puerto Real, some 80 individuals gathered in the Alestis parking lot, but no traffic was disrupted. A calm picket of 40 individuals at El Puerto鈥檚 Tecnobah铆a industrial park also gathered. In San Fernando, eight individuals were positioned between the Navantia factory鈥檚 entrances and turnstiles, while security forces directed traffic to avoid traffic congestion. (As reported by Diario de Cadiz.)
La L铆nea mayor Juan Franco called the disruption 鈥渦njustifiable,鈥 warning it was having 鈥渞eal social consequences鈥 with residents missing work, school, and medical appointments, as reported by GBC News.
The human impact was captured by a Facebook post by Lori Hillman who described witnessing people trapped in cars for hours in scorching heat on Tuesday, June 24.
鈥淥n Tuesday it took me 4 and a half hours to complete a twenty-minute journey from Pueblo Nuevo to Gibraltar. No signs of warning, no police giving out water in the heat. No way to turn around to go home.鈥
鈥淚 saw cars overheated, broken down on the side of the road鈥 I saw a woman who just stopped her car, head in hands, sobbing鈥︹
鈥淚 saw elderly people in old cars without air-con, windows open, fanning themselves with fans or pieces of cardboard. 4 1/2 hours for an elderly person, no movement, no water, this is a serious threat to their health, to their heart and kidneys. I know because I鈥檓 a health practitioner.
I saw babies in these cars and young children hot and crying. Missing school, work, medical appointments.鈥
鈥淪hame on the organisation who didn鈥檛 think of consequences and shame on the local authorities who didn鈥檛 provide information or send police on motorbikes to check on vulnerable people.鈥
No end in sight
Metalworkers in C谩diz continue to block roads daily outside major employers like Navantia, Alestis, and the Tecnobah铆a industrial estate. Although most picket lines have remained peaceful, the scale and location of these protests 鈥 particularly near commuter routes 鈥 have sparked rising anger among residents in the Campo de Gibraltar and beyond.
鈥淣othing is finalized or concrete,鈥 said Antonio Montoro of the UGT to the media, but he did add that 鈥渢here have been proposals from both sides鈥 after a meeting at the Andalusian Council of Labor Relations (CARL) in Seville on Thursday, June 26.
While the workers have a legal right to strike, many are now questioning whether that right should come at such a high cost to public health and daily life.
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