THE TRUCKERS’ strike, entering its third day today, is threatening to wreak economic havoc on Cyprus in the run-up to Christmas, with cargo beginning to pile at the ports at one of the busiest retail times of the year.
Four thousand ‘A’ licensed truck drivers on Monday started an indefinite strike in protest at being forced to sit examinations to renew their licences from January 1, under new EU rules.
Commerce and Industry Minister Haris Thrasou yesterday called on the truck drivers to go back to work and discuss the matter with the government in a more reasonable way.
“We cannot simply shove aside the exams because it would be going against EU laws,” he said.
However, Thrasou’s pleas appeared to fall on deaf ears, with Kyriakos Moustakkas, the General Secretary of POVEK, the union that represents the truckers, striking a defiant note.
“We are in danger of losing millions if we loosen, even in the slightest, our demands,” he said yesterday. “If the matter is not resolved soon we shall be stepping up our strikes, not scaling it down. You must know that we want to work, especially during the Christmas period.
“We are asking for the government to hold off on the new licence exams and to review our submission instead.”
With truckers blockading the ports, and in some cases stopping and searching private vehicles leaving and entering with any cargo, the head of the Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEV) said it was time the government stepped in.
Michalis Pilikos said nobody had the right to form a blockade at the ports and hold a whole country hostage.
“The functioning of the port has already been affected, as has the transportation of fruit and vegetables and materials for the construction industry. We have a lot of products that are stuck in various places like the ports and we have made a dramatic appeal both towards the minister and the truckers who, despite having the right to voice their complaints, do not have the right to block the ports and other similar sectors.
“The economy has enough problems as it is, and people are preparing to celebrate Christmas and no one has the right, no matter what right they might have, to keep a nation hostage.”
The strike has also been taking its toll on businesses, as the owner of ALBO Shipping Ltd Alexandros Alexandrou in Limassol told the Cyprus Mail.
“The truckers strike has definitely affected us. We have an agreement in which the cargo would arrive by boat at the port and the cargo then has to be uploaded onto a truck and taken away. The fact that they are striking means the ship is now drifting just off the port and it can’t dock. If the strike continues, either we will have to pay a costly sum to leave the ship parked in the dock or unload the cargo into the warehouse, which will also cost money.
“If the situation continues, a decision might be reached where the boat will redirect elsewhere to unload the cargo.”
The head of the Citrus Fruit Export Union, Giorgos Tsakistos, said people were in danger of losing their businesses if the problem was not resolved soon.
“Around 1,000 tons of grapefruit and lemons and other fruits such as mandarins cannot be loaded onto boats that are already at the port. You can understand the problems that will arise in relations with clients and financial setbacks if those fruit are not delivered, especially before Christmas.”
