Taxi drivers launch new nationwide strike and Athens march

In a statement, the Panhellenic Federation of Professional Taxi Owners said it opposed the bill and, in particular, ‘all articles that seek to discredit the role of the taxi and its public character, as they undermine the viability of the profession and the livelihoods of taxi owners’ families across the country’.

The federation has called on all taxi associations and regional councils to gather in Athens at 11am at the offices of the Athens association, at 17 Marnis Street, before joining a mass march, without vehicles, to parliament, where the bill will be debated.

‘On Monday, those who vote for the bill will be condemning the profession. They will in practice be admitting that they do not understand our just demands, and the sector will be the only certainty in turning its back on them. Their vote is their last chance, and it is an obligation for all of us to be outside on the day of the vote.

‘On Monday, the sector will strike from 5am until 5am on Tuesday, and it will be our opportunity once again to demonstrate our reaction together, to cry out for justice and to demand it with our presence, which must be universal across the country. No taxis on the road. Buses will be coming from everywhere for this purpose, and colleagues from Athens must be present everywhere. Our strength is our voice and our presence. Let us all prove it on Monday,’ the statement said.

The Attica Taxi Drivers’ Union, known as SATA, said the sector ‘will react in unity, even at the last moment, against the disgraceful provisions of the “recovery bill” being brought before the plenary of parliament for a vote by the deputy minister of infrastructure and transport, with the support of the government’.

It added: ‘With our massive participation, we condemn the outrageous articles of Mr Kyranakis’s draft law and, in particular, the distortions that will be created in the future against the sector through ministerial decisions.’

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