Getting around Greece on Tuesday was no easy feat, with train and taxi drivers both on strike.
All train routes were suspended over 24-hours, with train drivers demonstrating against being understaffed, along with the privatisation of the rolling stock maintenance company. The move to privatise is a result of the financial crisis, and the government’s commitment to a privatisation program as part of Greece’s international bailout.
Meanwhile, taxi drivers walked off the job for nine hours for a separate cause, protesting the laws pertaining to ride-sharing service Uber.
The drivers expressed similar sentiments to those by taxi drivers around the world, accusing Uber of “siphoning work away” from license-holders. The greater Athens taxi association, SATA said that creditors had prevented ministers from cracking down on the platform.
It is not the first time SATA has come out against Uber; in 2017 the association lobbied for stricter operating limits on app-based taxi services, but was unsuccessful.
Below is a disturbing video of protesters attacking an Uber driver downtown.
