Love As Arson
08/04/10, 05:45 PM
The truck drivers strike posed a serious threat to the government’s austerity measures. Unlike the actions by workers in the civil service and in industry, whose trade unions called 24-hour stoppages and then sent them back to work without any serious damage to the economy, the six-day strike by some 33,000 truck drivers shut down important sections of the economy.
In particular, the lack of fuel at gas stations coincided with the high season in the tourism industry, one of the country’s main sources of income. But other industries were also severely hampered by the lack of transportation..By the third day of the strike, the government sought recourse to a rarely used law. It effectively conscripted the strikers into the army by decree, and ordered them to start to work again or face draconian penalties. When the truck drivers opposed this move and sought to continue the strike, the government deployed the army to break the strike and supply airports, power stations and other facilities with fuel.
http://wsws.org/articles/2010/aug2010/pers-a04.shtml
In particular, the lack of fuel at gas stations coincided with the high season in the tourism industry, one of the country’s main sources of income. But other industries were also severely hampered by the lack of transportation..By the third day of the strike, the government sought recourse to a rarely used law. It effectively conscripted the strikers into the army by decree, and ordered them to start to work again or face draconian penalties. When the truck drivers opposed this move and sought to continue the strike, the government deployed the army to break the strike and supply airports, power stations and other facilities with fuel.
http://wsws.org/articles/2010/aug2010/pers-a04.shtml