Greek truck drivers voted at a meeting today to defy a government order and continue their five-day strike, which has caused nationwide fuel shortages, after talks with Transport Ministry officials ended in deadlock.

“We are continuing with the strike,” George Tzortzatos, president of the Truck Owners Confederation, said in comments carried live on state-run NET TV. “We didn’t come here to mourn our licenses.”

About 33,000 truckers, including tanker owners, are protesting government plans to open up the freight industry and issue new licences.

The changes are a requirement of a 110 billion-euro ($143 billion) loan package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Truck owners and drivers “are giving their all to not lose their property,” Tzortzatos said.

Striking truck owners and Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Minister Dimitris Reppas were in talks for some four hours on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to reach a compromise that would defuse the tension and peacefully end a strike that has starved Greek markets of fuel.

On Wednesday, the government responded to the open-ended strike by ordering a civil mobilisation to force truckers to return to work.

After the conclusion of Thursday's meeting, a representative of the truck owners, including tanker trucks that transport fuels, said only that the sector's federations were currently meeting and would soon announce what stance they intend to take.

Among truck owners demands to end their strike action was that the minister promise to delay any vote on a draft bill that seeks to open up their currently closed profession until the end of August. This demand had been provisionally agreed to on Wednesday by ministry general secretary Haris Tsiokas.

In the meantime, prefectures were beginning to issue the orders requisitioning individual truck owners' services and their vehicles so that the market might be supplied with fuel and resume its operation.

Earlier on Thursday, truck owners clashed with police on Thursday morning outside the ministry after they attempted to storm the ministry in protest against the civil mobilisation order.

Police used tear gas to turn back the strikers, who tried to storm into the building to meet with Reppas.
Orders to individual truckers began being served from 6:00 a.m. by administrative process-servers, but defiant truck owners originally said they would ignore them.

Refusal to obey the order carries penalties of up to five years imprisonment (the maximum term for a misdemeanor) and the risk of having their licence revoked.

The government legislation seeks to open up the currently closed road freight market that is open only to licensed "public use" trucks. The last government licences were issued in the 1970s and opening this market is among Greece's obligations to the EU.

The strike has hurt Greek industry and tourism, with fuel shortages likely to affect travel this weekend.

Hoteliers at resorts in northern Greece, which are normally accessed by car, have reported a steeper drop in bookings this year — more than 15 percent, according to their associations.

Greece is to mobilise military vehicles to restore fuel supplies cut by a lorry drivers' strike, officials have said.

Army lorries and naval vessels will ensure the supply of fuel to "critical sectors", the government said after a crisis cabinet meeting.

Navy landing craft will also contribute if necessary to cover the needs of islands by transporting tanker trucks."