And where drivers are owner-operators, as they are in Greece, a license has to be purchased as it is in any industry. It's been a long time, but when last I knew a hack license in NYC cost about $60,000. The owner can then sell the license and will customarily reap the benefit of some appreciation, particularly if he/she drove for any length of time. It's like owning a house in that regard.
As part of the new austerity measures, the government, at the insistence of the IMF, has reduced the cost of the licenses. At a stroke they have increased the number of cabs on the road, and greatly diminished the value of existing licenses. Often the sale of these licenses, which will now trade for considerably less, is an important supplement to the drivers' retirement savings.
Consequently, the cabbies have gone on strike, a problem in any city, but in Greece, where tourism is 15pc of the GDP, it's a major blow to government tax revenues.
A political row broke out within the government on Wednesday over planned reforms to the taxi drivers’ sector following the collapse of talks between Transport Minister Yiannis Ragousis and unionists representing the cabbies who have been blocking airports, ports and roads for several days.
Ragousis refused the unionists’ demands for a six-month grace period within which the planned reforms could be discussed.
The taxi drivers want Ragousis to revert to a law drafted by his predecessor, Dimitris Reppas, which set limits on the number of licenses that can be issued.
But this hardline stance has got Ragousis in some hot water:
But Ragousis came under fire in Parliament from high-ranking members of ruling PASOK, including Citizens’ Protection Minister Christos Papoutsis, for his position on the taxi drivers.
Compounding Ragousis’s woes, a group of 21 PASOK MPs asked for the planned reforms to be discussed by Parliament’s transport committee with his participation, expressing concerns about the impact of the cabbies’ strike action on the country’s crucial tourism sector.
It would be unwise to overstate the dispute, but fissures like these are good news for the people of Greece who are under attack from their government.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_20/07/2011_399236
In the meantime, cabbies are at war with the police:
ATHENS, Greece — Greek taxi drivers clashed with police Wednesday as they vowed to continue an open-ended strike that has caused big disruptions at airports and harbors during the peak of the country’s vital tourist season.
Hundreds of taxi drivers protesting planned licensing reforms threw stones and water bottles at riot police guarding the transport ministry during negotiations with the government. They were dispersed with tear gas. The government is trying to make it cheaper for new drivers to enter the business but talks over the plans collapsed Wednesday.
The cabbies have taken over ticketing offices in Iraklio, Crete, and elsewhere and are letting tourists through for free. According to WaPo, they are doing this to demonstrate that they are not hurting tourism. I think it much more likely that they are trying to squeeze the government as hard as they can--and they should:
On Wednesday, taxi drivers blocked access to Iraklio airport on the major resort island of Crete, and threatened to prevent cruise ship passengers from boarding tour buses to Cretan archaeological sites on Thursday.
In an apparent bid to deflect criticism the strike is harming tourism revenue — worth more than 15 percent of GDP — taxi drivers in the southern Peloponnese area took over ticket offices at the site and museum of Ancient Olympia, allowing visitors in for free.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/markets/striking-greek-taxi-drivers-clash-with-police-in-athens-during-protest-at-new-licensing-laws/2011/07/20/gIQAqRiXPI_story.html
Don't underestimate the importance of this strike, it hits the Greek and European plutocracy right where they live--on the bottom line.
