Greek Government Invokes Emergency Powers To End Truck Strike (back to work or go to jail)

[Robbien]

Source: Forex

ATHENS (MNI) – In a very rare move, the Greek government Wednesday
invoked a national emergency provision to force striking fuel-tanker
drivers go back to work.

The government announced it would issue the civil mobilization
order, normally used in times of war or national disaster, and send
letters to each of the truck drivers ordering them to report to duty. If
they fail to comply, they could face criminal charges and up to five
years of jail time.

The drivers had been on strike for three days through Wednesday,
protesting a government effort to open up their profession, which is
part of the austerity package agreed by Greece in exchange for up to
E100 billion in loans from the Eurozone and the IMF.

Earlier Wednesday, discussions between the truckers union and the
socialist government had collapsed and drivers vowed to continue the
strike indefinitely. They complain that under the government plan,
licenses to new drivers would be issued for much less than they paid,
thereby putting them at a disadvantage.

Read more: http://www.forexlive.com/122160/all/greek-government-invokes-emergency-powers-to-end-truck-strike

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[sulphurdunn]

1. Will the Greek government

drive down the cost of labor by selling out to IMF corporate vandals or not? That is the question and it has been answered. New question: Is it really possible to have a socialist government under the thumb of the World Bank and the IMF?

[Robbien]

3. This event is the turning point

If the strike is effectively broken by this emergency decree, then the rest of the labor force soon goes under along with the truckers.

I expect the government has a whole group of cheap immigrant labor at hand ready to take over the truckers jobs if the truckers hold to their strike and are jailed.

The IMF is the tool of the rich elite and as such, socialism holds no chance with them.

[fedsron2us]

4. I believe the Greek hauliers are essentially self employed and own their rigs

Their main beef is that the Greek government has been quite happy to pocket the hefty fees that the drivers had to pay for their licenses to operate in a regulated trading environment but are not going to recompense them for the fact these will essentially become worthless after market 'liberalisation'. In addition the state is now proposing to requisition (ie steal) their trucks to break the strike. Western Neo-liberal kleptocratic economics at its finest. This is the sort of behaviour that leads to popular revolt and civil war.

[Robbien]

6. Thanks for that info

There's a good post over at ZeroHedge about today's happenings over the trucker's strike:

When Jail Threats Don't Work: Greek Government Punctuates Case Against Strikers By Firing Tear Gas At Them
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/when-jail-threat-dont-work-greek-government-punctuates-case-against-strikers-firing-tear-gas

As we wrote earlier, Greece is currently paralyzed, literally, due to a wholesale shortage of fuel at gas stations, as drivers of trucks carrying the precious commodity have been striking for several days. As noted previously, the government invoked a war-time mobilization measure forcing the strikers to stop striking or face civil penalties and jail time. Shockingly, this had absolutely no impact on the angry mob. In order to make its point even more clear, the government accentuated its overturn of labor rights by firing tear gas at protesters, according to the Guardian. And, in an amusing turn of events, the IMF delegation which was rumored to be passing by at just this time to conclude the backroom deal in which US taxpayers would fund a few hundred more billion of failed Greek programs, was subjected to a Greek parliamentary guard wearing the traditional skirty attire, screaming in a bullhorn that the truckers were merely engaged in a modern remixed version of sirtaki and there was absolutely nothing to see there (obviously the guy had just graduated from the CNBC School for People who Want to Fabricate the Truth Good).

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I say being IMFed sucks. It makes me happy to see the Greeks stand up and refuse to be enslaved to the rich elite.

[SoapBox]

2. What if they just call in sick? Or plain old quit?

...will the court and government, chain / shackle the drivers to their rigs and
whip them to drive?

The world has lost it's frack'n mind.

[unkachuck]

5. "...invoked a national emergency provision..."

....so much for Greek democracy....where's the friggin' war; where's the catastrophic earthquake?

....it's only been three shitty days and the 'socialist' government caves under the auspices of EU capitalists, and is now going to crucify their truckers....nice....strikes are suppose to hurt, otherwise there would be no point to striking....

....so much for Greek 'socialist' governments....