Queues from early morning lined up to the stations as car drivers were afraid that petrol will end in the coming days because of the strike of the owners of petrol tanks. Traffic jams on the ring road of Athens and other central boulevards also caused traffic problems as owners of trucks and tanks stopped their vehicles on the road, waiting to go on a protest march to the Parliament in the city center at noon.
According to dolnet.gr, more than 200 vehicles stopped on the two lanes of the Athens-Lamia highway and about 250 trucks – on the Athens-Corinth highway. According to other media, the total number of the trucks at 11 am was about 1000. Their owners were determined to go on a march to the Parliament at 2:30 pm but this did not happen. Subsequently, they said from the Ministry of Transport that any movement of tanks in the center of Athens will be illegal and appropriate measures will be taken if the reason for their movement is not to supply any of the petrol stations with fuel.
Тhe owners announced that there will not be any problems with petrol supplies despite their protest actions. They decided to protest against the draft of the Ministry of Infrastructure for the liberalization of their profession. For its part, the Ministry said on Radio Flash FM, that the bill will be voted in the next ten days anyway. It, however, will provide enough tax concessions for owners who have bought licenses in the last three years, so that they can pay them, as well as additional regulations related to retirement in favour of the owners. They also said from Megara Maksimu that the strike came as a thunderbolt, because the ministries were in constant dialogue with the owners after the last protest.
There was strong police presence in front of the Ministry of Transport and the police had to intervene today to open one of the highways. They had to intervene also in a clash between demonstrating drivers and their colleagues who had decided not to participate in the protest but to work normally. Meanwhile, a ceiling on petrol prices was imposed because there were stations on Sunday that speculated with the news of the strike and the unleaded petrol has reached 1.8 euros per liter at some places.
In Thessaly region, where Larissa and Karditsa are located, the ceiling on the petrol price is € 1.496, but no lack of fuel was observed. In the Attica region and Thessaloniki the ceiling is determined to € 1.473 per liter for unleaded petrol and € 1.701 for 100 octane petrol (the LRP petrol costs € 1.561 per liter), announced Naftemboriki Newspaper. The ceiling of the highest price will be valid for the next seven days. Then, the government will review the price of the fuel and will decide whether to keep the fuel price ceiling as its the purpose now is to come to grips with speculators.
Owners of trucks and tanks not only in Athens but in Thessaloniki and Larissa protested too. Truck drivers in Thessaloniki gathered in the region of Lahanagora, which is out of town, and then went down the central boulevards. Tanks and trucks did not take part in the protest – only national and international carriers, which perform government contracts. They went along the coastal boulevard Niki, in front of the White Tower and turned to the ring road from the Anteon Blvd.
Owners of tanks and trucks are under political mobilization. Their trucks are subject to requisition resulting in inability to make strikes. The truck drivers declared their intention to give the keys of the vehicles to the municipal authorities which is also illegal, they said from the Ministry.
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