Taxi drivers in Greece have vowed to escalate their protests nationwide if their demands are not met, as their strike continues until 6 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 20.

“The government is leading us to ruin if it does not withdraw Article 52 of the bill,” Paris Orfanos, Secretary General of the Syndicate of Attica Taxi Drivers (SATA), said. “If our demands are not satisfied, we will intensify our mobilizations across the country.”

On Thursday at 10:30 a.m., taxi drivers are set to gather outside their union offices on Marnis Street, in Athens,  before marching toward the Maximos Mansion, the seat of the Greek government.

The industrial action follows a series of demonstrations earlier this week. On Tuesday, Feb. 17, drivers staged a motorcade to the Ministry of Transport, where they met with Deputy Minister Konstantinos Kyranakis. The talks, however, yielded no outcome deemed satisfactory by the drivers. On Wednesday, they organized another vehicle protest toward Athens International Airport.

Three Core Demands
The drivers are pressing for action on three key issues:
• Extension of the mandatory transition to electric vehicles. Current regulations require taxis replacing their vehicles to switch to electric models by 2026. Drivers are calling for a significant extension—potentially until 2035.
• Immediate withdrawal of Article 52 of the omnibus bill. According to SATA, the provisions of the article unfairly favor private hire vehicles with drivers, describing the measures as “scandalously advantageous” to rental car services.
• Introduction of a general-use criminal record certificate for the issuance or renewal of special taxi driving licenses.

2,000 Drivers Out of Work
Orfanos claims that since 2021, approximately 2,000 taxi drivers have been left unemployed due to the requirement to submit a judicial-use criminal record certificate every five years as part of the process for obtaining or renewing their special taxi driving license.