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		</div><p>Portugal has started rationing petrol as a precaution after 2,000 lorry drivers began an open-ended strike over pay, a move that comes at the height of the crucial summer tourist season and during the summer harvest.</p>
<p>The government set a limit at gas stations of 25 litres (6.6 gallons) for light vehicles and 100 litres (26.4 gallons) for lorries until further notice as most tanker drivers walked off the job.</p>
<p>Some hauliers in other sectors of the economy also joined the walkout.</p>
<p>Anticipating petrol and fresh food shortages, the centre-left Socialist government, which faces a general election in October, is forcing hauliers to provide a minimum volume of supplies.</p>
<p>Authorities hope to minimise disruptions by demanding that drivers maintain petrol supplies to emergency services and airports, provide 75% of normal petrol deliveries for public transport systems and 50% to petrol stations.</p>
<p>All perishable goods and at least half of the normal food supplies must also be delivered to stores.</p>
<p>Some tankers delivering petrol on Monday had a police escort, and police said they were on standby for the possibility of roadblocks erected by strikers.</p>
<p>Few queues were reported yet at petrol stations after many people filled their tanks over the weekend.</p>
<p>The government warned that if hauliers do not comply with the required level of minimum services, it will enact a rarely-used law to force them back to work.</p>
<p>At the same time, the government was preparing to use qualified members of the security forces to deliver petrol, if necessary.</p>
<p>The walkout was called by the National Hazardous Materials Drivers’ Union, representing about 750 of the country’s 900 tanker drivers, and the Independent Goods Vehicles Drivers’ Union.</p>
<p>The hauliers are demanding staggered annual rises over the next three years in their basic pay and benefits.</p>
<p>They want their basic pay to increase from 630 euros a month to 900 euros by 2022.</p>
<p>Employers say they cannot afford the demands by the unionised drivers.</p>
<p>Portugal’s prime minister Antonio Costa, who visited emergency services Monday to check their readiness for the strike, appealed to both sides to return to negotiations.</p>
<p>Farmers in Portugal fear they will not be able to get fresh summer produce, such as lettuce and tomatoes, to stores before they go rotten.</p>
<p>Dairy farmers have warned they could lose millions of litres of milk a day due to the strike.</p>
<p>Portugal’s southern Algarve region, a popular European vacation destination, hosts one million tourists in August and tour operators are concerned that some of those holidays could be disrupted.</p>
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