Greek truckers stage roads protest

Truck drivers have blocked traffic on Greece’s two busiest motorways outside Athens, to protest at a government overhaul of labour market rules.

The truckers, protesting for a tenth day, sealed off the motorways minutes after parliament voted in favour of legislation to scrap restricted licensing rules for truck drivers.

Greece has promised to reform its labour market as part of austerity measures agreed in return for €110bn in rescue loans from European countries and the International Monetary Fund.

Protesters have been camped outside parliament since Tuesday. They scuffled todayy with police, who responded with pepper spray.

After changing rules for truck drivers, the Socialist government has promised to introduce similar reforms to end so-called closed-shop professions, including pharmacists, lawyers and architects.

“Greece is the only country out of the 27 in the European Union that still has these restricted rules (for truckers),” Transport Minister Dimitris Reppas told parliament. “Everyone knew this reform had to happen.”

In a week of escalating protests, workers at the state-run Hellenic Railways held a five-hour work stoppage, while local government workers are planning a strike tomorrow.

Protesting farmers’ market workers, angry at new tax rules, are also on strike and set up stalls outside the Finance Ministry, where they handed out peaches and slices of watermelon to passers by.