Taxi strike destined for third week

by Constantine Callaghan 1 Aug 2011

AS THE taxi strike edges towards its third week, neither the government nor the unions have come close to reaching a solution.

Traffic around central Athens’ Syntagma Square came to a halt on July 26 as taxi drivers blocked the surrounding roads. Some 3,000 cabbies are estimated to have marched in central Athens waving flags as music blared from megaphones mounted on top of their vehicles. The protest was sparked by the government’s plan to liberalise taxi licensing laws and allow private companies to compete for business. 

The European Union and IMF have demanded that Greece liberalise 135 protected professions to encourage competition and increase the economy’s competiveness. Taxi drivers, in turn, fear that the value of their taxi licences, for which some say they paid in excess of 100,000 euros, will dwindle to as little as 3,000 euros. 

The taxi drivers, on strike since July 18, have vowed to continue their action until their demands are met. 

Prime Minister George Papandreou reached out to the striking cabbies on July 27, urging talks take place to put an end to the strike, which coincides with the peak tourist season and has seen visitors endure blocked roads at airports and sea ports. 

Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Minister Yiannis Ragousis was scheduled to hold separate meetings with taxi owners and drivers on July 29.

“The Greek family makes a living from tourism,” Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos said. “It is a sector we should all protect. This is not the time to turn the tourism sector into a battlefield.”

Tourism contributes almost 16 percent of gross domestic product and is seen as vital to the recovery of the struggling economy.

The British foreign office has warned Britons about the strikes. Last year, some 2.35 million British citizens visited Greece.  

The cabbies had scaled down their strike at the beginning of the week, allowing for roads, airports and ports to operate without hindrance. However, on the morning of July 28 the striking drivers re-emerged, blocking the exit and entrance to the Piraeus cruise ship terminal.  

Some 2,000 cabbies gathered at the cruise terminal gates in Piraeus, upon the arrival of five cruise ships, and attempted to disrupt the disembarkation of tourists. Police said that two protesters threw oil on a nearby street in a bid to prevent vehicles from exiting the port. Fifteen of the scheduled 35 tourist coaches could not leave the port.

Taxi strike destined for third week | Athens News

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