Taxi drivers protest in Greece
Posted Jul 6, 2011 04:24:27 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Taxis across Greece are holding a 24-hour strike to protest the opening of their profession to more competition, part of reforms the government has pledged in order to continue receiving funds from an international bailout preventing the country from default.
Dozens of taxi drivers held a noisy drive-by protest outside parliament Wednesday, blaring their horns as they passed the building in a convoy in central athens.
The government passed legislation earlier this year opening up so-called closed professions that benefited from tightly controlled licensing practices or fixed profit margins.
Those affected include taxi and truck drivers, pharmacists, lawyers and notaries.
Workers complain that this means expensive licenses purchased to buy into the profession become worthless.
