July 28, 2010
As the strike by Greek truck drivers runs the course of its fourth day strangling fuel supplies, distressing local drivers and devastating the critical tourism sector at its peak, their unions have found no political friends and public opinion is increasingly hostile towards them.
The strike is an attempt to roll back liberalization of the sector, or as its known locally “opening up closed-off professions.” At its heart the strikers don’t want their valuable licenses-–worth anywhere between €90,000 to €200,000–to evaporate to worthless in three years. And they are not appeased by the offer by the Transport Ministry that would allow the current value of the license to be counted as equity capital in newly formed companies.
Interestingly, these licenses were issued under a law passed by the military junta in the 1970s. Since then they have been transferred between truck drivers in the gray market, have never been taxed and their value has never been declared as an asset to any authorities. And now some truck drivers are suggesting that the cash strapped Mediterranean country compensate drivers for the depreciation of their license asset or else they won’t return to work. Let’s get real!
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