(1 Aug 2010) SHOTLIST
Athens, 1 August, 2010
1. Various of truck drivers gathered outside venue where meeting taking place
2. SOUNDBITE (Greek) Giorgos Tzortzatos, Union spokesperson:
“Taking into consideration the problems that have been created by not supplying the market with food and petrol and other products, and with a sense of responsibility we decided for the suspension of the strike with narrow majority of votes.”
3. Truckers talking
4. SOUNDBITE (Greek) Nektarios Moraitis, Truck driver:
“We have mixed feelings. We must see the moves of the government, we must see what negotiations will take place and from there on out, we’ll make our decision.”
5. Wide of truck drivers
Elefsina, 1 August 2010
6. Wide of light traffic approaching toll station
7. Mid of traffic and toll station
8. Car paying and leaving
9. Close-up of electronic sign reading (Greek and English) “2.90 EUR” and then changing to read (Greek and English) “Go”
10. Car leaving toll both seen through mirror
11. Car paying and leaving toll station
12. Row of cars seen leaving toll station
13. Cars coming through toll station
14. Police bus near toll station
15. Wide of traffic seen after toll station
STORYLINE:
A Greek truckers union announced on Sunday that it was calling to an end a seven-day strike and entering into talks with the government over opening up the profession to non-union members.
The strike seriously disrupted supplies of fuel and other goods to markets, but the government’s decision on Friday to commandeer the strikers’ vehicles has largely filled gasoline pumps again, even though many truckers refused to obey the mobilisation orders.
Army vehicles have helped supply fuel to airports, hospitals and power stations.
“Taking into consideration the problems that have been created by not supplying the market with food and petrol and other products, and with a sense of responsibility we decided for the suspension of the strike with narrow majority of votes,” union spokesperson Giorgos Tzortzatos said after a union meeting.
The union said its members will resume work on Monday but warned of further strikes if the government backs down from their commitments, without specifying what those might be.
The suspension is timely with August 1 marking the traditional start of vacations in Greece.
The strike has left pumps empty and Greeks seeking local vacation getaways for the start of their holidays.
Traffic was light on the main highway leading out of Athens on Sunday.
It would normally be crammed with cars waiting to go through the country’s toll stations heading out of the Greek capital.
The strike has hurt tourism, especially last-minute bookings and popular holiday excursions to beaches and ancient sites, hoteliers and travel agents said.
The truckers were protesting government attempts to liberalise their closed-shop profession, a central demand of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which have provided Greece with an emergency euro 110 billion (b) (143.5 billion (b) US dollars) to stave off bankruptcy.
Sweeping labour reforms targeting previously protected professional groups follow months of strikes and protests over other austerity measures that included sale tax hikes, and cuts in pensions and civil service pay, all in the midst of a recession that has seen unemployment spike to around 12 percent.
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Post time: Jun-17-2017