With Portuguese truckers among the thousands held up at Dover, UK, their union ANTRAM says the real reason for the drama is Brexit, not the new variant of the virus that causes Covid-19.
Antram president Pedro Polónio is calling for an urgent meeting with the Portuguese government, saying his members have the right to be allowed home to spend Christmas with their families.
For now, they are stuck going absolutely nowhere since the French blocked the passage of freight from the UK on the basis that it might exacerbate the spread of the new variant.
As we wrote this text, British media reported that Dover has halted all traffic to France for the next 48 hours. Thus the truckers stacked up for miles are well and truly stranded.
But Pedro Polónio is under no illusions. “Either they are not telling us the whole truth about this new variant or it simply cannot be the fundamental motive for what is happening. To us, the fundamental motive is much more Brexit and their wanting to get tough. But getting tough with trucks and drivers, isn’t the way”, he told reporters.
ANTRAM has been in touch with the government and is awaiting developments.
Meantime other news outlets have been reporting on foreign truckers’ ‘feelings’ that what is happening at Dover has very little to do with the new variant of the virus and more to do with politics.
According to the Daily Mail this evening, the French blockade could last until Christmas Eve
