Anastasia Balezdrova
Taxi owners in Greece decided to extend the 48-hour strike by another day. They will hold a protest in front of the Ministry of Transport tomorrow and later will go by the taxis to the road cash desks in Afidnes and Elevsina where they will ensure free passage of vehicles. After they blocked the two main entrances of foreign visitors to the capital yesterday and became the subject of sharp criticism for that, today they held a rally in front of the building of their trade union and a march to the Parliament.
In his impassioned speech before thousands of his colleagues, the union president Evtimios Limberopoulos informed them that taxi owners in Thessaloniki, Patras and Iraklion in Crete have blocked ports and airports in their cities today. "They want to blame us who are the first to greet the visitors from abroad for hampering tourism. Well, we will not allow this. Therefore, we gathered here today without our cars and will hold a peaceful rally without creating problems to society, which is our biggest ally."
The trade unionist defined the ruling Socialist Party as a synonym for neoliberalism and stressed that all opposition parties support the protest of taxi drivers. Evtimios Limberopoulos said, "The government is greatly mistaken if it thinks that it all will end in a few days. The protest is just starting and what they will encounter will be unprecedented. There will be a camp," he said without mentioning when and where the taxi owners intend to place their tents.
"I would like to ask you to come with your families without your cars tomorrow not to hamper the road traffic to the Ministry of Transport and to protest against the arbitrary decisions of Minister Ragousis". After each mentioning of the name of the minister there was a wave of whistling and even curses. The trade union leader asked his colleagues not to express themselves in this way, "not to give occasion for the government to say, "this is the level of taxi drivers.” In connection with the order the district prosecutor Eleni Raykou issued for confiscating the registration plates of anyone who hampers the free traffic, he said that no separate cases of colleagues who will have problems with justice are necessary. "If they wish they can come and take all our cars, and we can even burn them if we want," were the words that set fire to the atmosphere already hot because of the scorching sun.
Trade union leaders of employees in various types of public transport as well as owners of trucks, whose protests were on the agenda just a year ago, supported the strike of taxi owners. They all were very passionate about how they should thwart "the government's plans to liberalize the profession." However, hardly any of them would respond to the case of Yannis, which is a very indicative example of the clientelism in Greece.
He said that four years ago he took part in a competition of the supreme council for the selection of personnel in the public sector and won the driver's position in a trolley transport company. Although the order for his appointment was published in the Official Gazette in November 2007, he was not lucky enough to begin working as a trolley driver. "One day I had a phone call and they told me "congratulations, you were appointed." I was glad and I treated my friends. Then, nobody looked for me. I went several times to the company headquarters, but nobody paid attention to me. It was only the fourth time when one of the employees said that my going there was in vain, because a man who knew the right people in a ministerial office was assigned. Why are they doing this? All the time the governments of PASOK and New Democracy are talking about justice, aren’t they? Well, I could not find it, probably because I am not a "soldier" in the army of any of the two parties. "
Yannis said he protested because half the taxi is his only property. "I do not own a house and I am all alone. I have no living parents, nor my own family. Moreover, who will take me to work at the age of 41 when it is difficult even for the young people aged 25-30 to find a job? "
Thousands of taxi owners took part in the rally at the Parliament. When they reached the sidewalk in front of the monument of the Unknown Soldier, they placed a taxi on it symbolically and started shouting slogans against the government. Those in charge of order made appeals to their colleagues not to walk on the sidewalk and not to bother the tourists, many of whom after shooting the Evzones made pictures of the taxi drivers.
Despite the significant participation in the protests, some taxi owners support the suspension of the strike because of fears of society’s dissatisfaction as well as of those employed in tourism. There are also those criticizing the government for confronting taxi owners at the wrong time of the year during the summer tourist season.
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