Gas stations running dry as strike goes on
Eight in 10 gas stations in Attica had run out of unleaded fuel last night and the remainder are expected to do so today as customs officials continue their strike for a fourth day over fears that they will lose bonus payments. The customs officers are due to meet with Deputy Economy and Finance Minister Antonis Bezas at 3 p.m. in a bid to resolve the dispute, which has also led to hundreds of trucks carrying fresh and frozen produce lining up at Greece’s northern borders. Traders say that it is only a matter of days before there are shortages of products at stores. Yesterday saw a second day of drivers lining up at the dwindling number of gas stations able to serve them as Athenians panicked about being left without enough fuel to operate their cars and motorcycles. Some gas station owners reported selling four days’ worth of fuel in four hours. Other regions of the country experienced similar problems and it is expected that there will be no fuel available at all by the end of today. Some gas stations sought to profit from the panic by pushing up their prices as stocks dwindled. The customs officers launched the strike after the government announced plans to stop paying some of their allowances from a so-called special account and instead bring the payments into the national budget. The civil servants, more than 3,500 of whom are on strike, fear that this will lead to some of their benefits being cut. Customs officers have an average salary of 29,142 euros but in many cases about half of this is bonus payments. Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis lambasted the officials for striking. «It is not possible for a group of well-paid civil servants to try to hold the Greek economy and society to ransom because they want to manage the special account themselves,» he said in Parliament, adding that the changes to the method of payment would not lead to any reduction in the amount of money the customs officers will receive. The customs officials’ union will convene before today’s meeting with Bezas to decide on its strategy and is due to convene again after the talks to decide whether to end the strike or not.
