Greek truckers on strike

Petrol stations across Greece are closed because they have no petrol to sell. Haulers parked their trucks on Sunday, and then blockaded refineries so that even privately owned tanker fleets couldn’t deliver. That has brought panic at the pump, just as Greeks are poised to go on their summer holidays. The government is now ordering truckers back to work. If they refuse, their trucks could be confiscated and driven by the army – an emergency measure not implemented in a generation. But the truckers say they will not back down down. The dispute began after the government said it will make trucking licenses free within three years, to introduce more competition. New trucking licenses have been frozen for a decade under pressure from the union, but Greece has committed itself to competitive measures in an agreement with the EU and IMF, which are keeping the country solvent.