By Caroline Drees
LONDON (Reuters) - Protests against surging fuel priceswhich have triggered fears of political instability and aglobal economic downturn expanded in Europe and Asia on Monday,and Colombian truckers said they would join the wave ofstrikes.
Protests by truckers, fishermen and other groupsparticularly vulnerable to rising energy costs have sweptacross countries from Spain to India and South Korea in recentweeks.
Widening public anger has pushed oil prices to the top ofthe policy agenda in many states. A meeting of the world'srichest nations warned at the weekend that soaring commodityprices may slice into growth, but failed to offer any plan tocalm markets or quell mushrooming protests.
On Monday, French truckers began blocking roads in thelatest protest to pressure the government to help them copewith oil prices that have more than doubled in a year.
The nationwide day of action announced by the main haulageassociations included roadblocks and so-called "snail"operations by convoys of slow-moving trucks and is expected todisrupt traffic severely, especially on highways.
"It's not about punishing transport users, it's aboutsending a warning to the government," said Philippe Fournier,an official of Unostra, an association that mainly representssmall haulage firms. "It has to accept its responsibilities."
In South Korea, construction workers joined strikingtruckers in the latest blow to new President Lee Myung-bak, whosaid inflationary pressures were creating the biggest globaleconomic crisis in 30 years.
The workers are pushing for cheaper fuel and higher pay.Stepping up the pressure, the militant Korean Confederation ofTrade Unions is due to announce on Tuesday the result of a voteby its more than 600,000 members on strike action.
"It's no overstatement to say that the world is faced withthe gravest crisis since the oil shock in the 1970s, with oil,food and raw materials prices skyrocketing," Lee told Asian andEuropean finance ministers on the resort island of Jeju.
SPREADING PROTESTS
A major Thai truckers group which threatened to blockadethe capital Bangkok this week agreed to postpone the protest onMonday after the government promised to help the transportsector deal with the increasing fuel costs.
Last week, thousands of Thai hauliers went on a half-daystrike. Facing sustained protests on the streets of Bangkok andshaky public support, Thailand's four-month old government istrying to shore itself up with handouts to everyone from ricefarmers to bus operators.
In Colombia, the world's No. 3 coffee producer, freightdrivers were also due to stage a national strike on Monday.Transport Minister Andres Uriel Gallego said officials weretaking measures to guarantee food supplies.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, is hostinga meeting of oil producers and consumers on June 22 to helpfind a solution to record energy prices.
Oil has risen 40 percent since the start of this year,boosted by expectations that supply will struggle to meetdemand from newly industrialising countries such as China andIndia.
Surging fuel and food prices drove inflation in the 15 eurozone countries to a new record high of 3.7 percent -- withenergy costs jumping 13.7 percent, data showed on Monday.
Even some oil producers are feeling the pinch. Iran'sgovernment plans to ask parliament for $7 billion (3.5 billionpounds) to pay for increasingly expensive fuel imports, anewspaper said on Monday, despite gasoline rationing launchedby the world's fourth-largest oil producer last year.
