Catalan tow trucks have been called to gather tomorrow, Thursday 1 December, in Barcelona to denounce the abusive conditions imposed on them by insurers, motoring clubs and platforms.
The roadside assistance sector has called a new protest for tomorrow, Thursday 1 December, which this time will take place in Barcelona. It is worth remembering that last week another slow march by tow-truck companies took place in Santiago de Compostela (23 November), while Bilbao hosted the first of these marches, on 14 November.
This time, the chosen city is Barcelona, where the route will start in Montjuic (departing from the communications tower), continuing along Pierre de Coubertin, Botánica and Ronda Litoral (B-10), to the Montcada i Reixac service area (km 81 of the C-33). There, a statement will be read out denouncing the situation of a sector under heavy pressure from insurers, assistance platforms and motoring clubs.
The countless abuses in contracts and the imposition of rates are insufficient to cover the costs of the services and 24/365 assistance; this situation has exhausted the patience of the companies in the sector, organised around the National Roadside Assistance Alliance. Its spokesperson, Xavier Martí, has said that they will not stop taking to the streets for a very specific reason: "Because the numbers no longer add up for us".
insurers, for their part, have announced profits of 2,662 million euros in the first half of 2022 (9.3 % more than the previous year).
Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela, Barcelona…
Despite having already launched protests in different cities, assistance companies are calling on insurers to sit down and discuss the serious situation in the market. Assistance companies' rates are 40 % below what is needed to keep their businesses viable, while insurers are making ever greater profits in their income statements. "63 % of the companies in the sector are already making losses," stated Martí.
In addition to Catalan tow-truck companies, other companies from different parts of Spain have been called to the Barcelona slow march and are expected to attend in support of the protest.
The National Roadside Assistance Alliance is made up of the following regional and national associations and business organisations: ABEAC (Balearic Islands), ABEAC (Basque Country), ASCA (Catalonia), AMEAC (Madrid), ASCALEAC, (Castile and León), ASEDA (Andalusia), ASEGA (Galicia), AGRUAXA (Salamanca), ASEXTEAC (Extremadura), GRUPO CARTER (National), CEPAS (National), FEGRUAL (National Federation) AGREGA-GRÚAS and REAC (National Group).