Protesting truck drivers - Thessaloniki, Greece

Protesting truck drivers - Thessaloniki, Greece, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Greek haulage associations have decided to continue strike action and blockades despite government moves to pass laws that would allow protesters to be jailed for up to five years and have their licence revoked.

With supermarket shelves emptying and shortages in basic goods appearing across the country Greek truckers this week voted to continue their industrial dispute with Athens over radical changes in transport policy which are aimed at liberalising road haulage regulations along with other sections of the economy.

However, continued resistance to the changes which were voted into law earlier this month has continued unabated across Greece with truckers refusing to haul goods to and from warehouses and ports. In addition there have been violent clashes between drivers and riot police units in Athens and other cities as the ruling PASOK government decided on a tougher line against strikers leading to arrests.

Shots were fired at truck operating in the Malakasas region in Attiki and according to Greek media there have been a number of attacks on Bulgarian vehicles in northern Greece.

For more photographs check out Demotix.com

Greek truckers' strike bites harder

Greek truckers' strike bites harder, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

The latest round of talks this morning between leaders of Greece's truck drivers associations and the government failed to find common ground and so the industrial action which is likely to see the country ground to a halt in the next few days is set to continue.

The dispute was the result of attempts by Athens to liberalise Greece's transport market by opening up the trucking profession to everyone with a heavy goods licence and so doing away with the existing permit system which has meant that like taxis, only those registered can operate.

On the one hand the opening up the profession is part of the IMF/EU/ECB process of making Greek products more competetive by reducing transport costs however, drivers associations argue that the sudden implementation of the system means that many of their members stand to lose hundreds of thousands of euros spent obtaining an operating licence.

Instead of petering out strike actions are set to escalate as Greek international truck drivers associations are also preparing to join the strike so threatening imports and exports to other EU countries.

The Greek media has been speculating on whether the government will be forced to bring in the army to make sure the country does not run out of fuel and other basic goods.