Reuters/Athens
Taxi drivers blocked major roads across Greece yesterday, stepping up protests against EU/IMF-inspired reforms to their trade and disrupting tourism at the height of the summer season.The protesters, who have been on strike for two weeks, oppose government plans to issue new taxi licences, as part of the cash-strapped country’s efforts to revive its ailing economy by liberalising restricted business sectors.Removing restrictions hampering access to so-called “closed professions”, including engineering and law, is a key condition for debt-laden Greece to continue receiving bailout funds from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Taxi owners occupied the country’s longest suspension bridge at Rio in western Greece and blocked the Athens-Patras highway, also in the west.“I don’t know how long it will last,” taxi owner Panagiotis Skentzos said on Skai TV.Others blocked access roads to the Herakleion airport at the resort island of Crete, forcing tourists to walk 500m with their luggage to get on buses and other transport.On Sunday, taxi owners prevented 1,600 cruise passengers from visiting the famous archaeological site of Knossos in Crete, a move local media said they might repeat.The Greek hoteliers association said the strike was seriously hurting tourism – Greece’s main industry – and efforts to revive the recession-hit economy, criticising the government for failing to quell the protests.“We are shooting ourselves in the foot and we might die from the bleeding,” the hoteliers said in a statement, warning that they will file law suits against taxi drivers.Taxi drivers have in the past used their licences as a kind of pension plan, selling the permits onto new drivers when they retire. They say the government’s plan to issue new licences for small amounts of money has undermined the system.Licences used to change hands for up to 200,000 euros ($143,900). But their price has plummeted in the last two years due to falling business, as austerity-pinched passengers switch to public transport.The government has threatened to take drastic action against the protesters.“This can’t go on,” government spokesman Ilias Mosialos said on state TV Net. “This is not just about taxi drivers. It’s a matter for the entire Greek society and its economy.”Police moved in over the weekend to remove tents used by protesters who had been camping outside parliament in Athens for more than two months.Protests against Prime Minister George Papandreou’s austerity plans have raged since the end of May. But the numbers of people attending them have declined over the past two weeks, as summer temperatures mount.