Thursday, May 30, 2013
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Why truckers strike and whats the people sentiment
I see that many Google keywords that are used to reach this blog are related to the reasons of the strike, so Ill take the time to analyze it a bit more extensively.
Since Im not a trucker, I do not claim to understand the reasons 100%. But as far as I can discern, from what Ive heard so far from some of the truckers, there are two main reasons for it:
a) Licenses. Licenses for trucks are limited by the government and as such they are now considered a high-value asset of those holding them (they can resell them for prices like 200 thousand euros). By opening the market to more truckers, this means that these licenses will get devalued to practically zero. However, truckers in Greece are more than the average in other countries, so the government cannot claim lack of truckers. They just want to open the market to "competition". And here we go to point (b).
b) Competition. As it is right now, the market consists primarily of thousands of freelance truckers. By opening the market these freelance truckers will not be able to compete on equal terms with huge foreign companies with large transport fleets. They are unable to have proper economies of scale and as such they fear (perhaps reasonably so) that this opening will lead them to lose their trucks and become slaves/employees of foreign companies.
Now, how do the people feel about the strike? Well, people are kind of used to strikes like this, so the first reaction was "quick, lets fill up our gas tanks so that we are ok through this strike period". In most people there is a somewhat mixed feeling of not wanting to be disrupted in their daily lives with a sublime pleasure that theres a group of citizens that opposes the government dynamically and says "enough is enough".
There are also a lot of people who believe that the truckers are just a spoiled working class who earn too much and that they should suffer like the rest / not protest etc. Most also believe that competition will eventually make the market better. Their opinion has been manufactured by the media propaganda and of course they do not really see how this will lead to a cartel of big foreign companies (like all other Greek markets).
In general, media is very hostile to this strike and presents the truckers as totally disruptive and at fault for many problems of the country. This media push influences many and thus the truckers have few sympathizers for their cause. Interestingly they have many more sympathizers by the group of people who opposes IMF control.
The government initially intended to vote the law affecting the truckers in late August-early September, but it brought it forward now, knowing full-well what would ensue, in the middle of tourist season. The question is why? Why do that? Many think (as Ive seen it expressed in the Greek blogs) that this is a social engineering application.
There have been some secret opinion polls in which it has been determined that people actually "respond well" when they are portrayed a national danger in the form of strikes. For example the strikes in the ports which made tourists go away was one instance where it worked magnificently. Most Greeks know the dire situation of the economy. So the media takes over and portrays any striker who hampers tourism, as "harming the economy in a time of crisis". So any striker is essentially blackmailed by the pressure of public opinion. Thus the government intentionally moved its law-voting in order for the truckers to be pitted against public opinion, in the middle of the tourist season, for "harming tourism".
Everyone will say "look how the truckers, in order to protect their benefits, defamed our country to tourists". But it is all social engineering really. There is no other reason to bring this law for voting 1 month earlier than planned, especially if it is to be activated in 3+ years (!!!).
So far, propaganda and social engineering have worked exceptionally well. Every time anyone strikes or protests or whatever, they are labeled a danger for the country or a danger for the stability of the country, or whatever. People, naturally wanting stability, are eager to exchange stability in favor of their support against instability factors. So when a strike occurs by the X work force, the government and media takes over and say that "they are harming the country". Thus everyone is pitted against them because they desire stability, thinking or hoping that the course that the government proposes might "save the country". But, at some point, people will start asking... "Im against the farmers, the truckers, the lawyers, the coal mine workers, the public sector employees, the bank employees, the port employees, the gas station owners, the pensioners, the X, the Z etc, but who am I with? Am I with the banksters? Am I with the media moguls? Am I with the thieves who are labeled politicians?" This "divide and conquer" tactic, with fragmentation-attacks is becoming increasingly transparent - but it is yet to reach critical mass.
Why truckers strike and whats the people sentiment
Since Im not a trucker, I do not claim to understand the reasons 100%. But as far as I can discern, from what Ive heard so far from some of the truckers, there are two main reasons for it:
a) Licenses. Licenses for trucks are limited by the government and as such they are now considered a high-value asset of those holding them (they can resell them for prices like 200 thousand euros). By opening the market to more truckers, this means that these licenses will get devalued to practically zero. However, truckers in Greece are more than the average in other countries, so the government cannot claim lack of truckers. They just want to open the market to "competition". And here we go to point (b).
b) Competition. As it is right now, the market consists primarily of thousands of freelance truckers. By opening the market these freelance truckers will not be able to compete on equal terms with huge foreign companies with large transport fleets. They are unable to have proper economies of scale and as such they fear (perhaps reasonably so) that this opening will lead them to lose their trucks and become slaves/employees of foreign companies.
Now, how do the people feel about the strike? Well, people are kind of used to strikes like this, so the first reaction was "quick, lets fill up our gas tanks so that we are ok through this strike period". In most people there is a somewhat mixed feeling of not wanting to be disrupted in their daily lives with a sublime pleasure that theres a group of citizens that opposes the government dynamically and says "enough is enough".
There are also a lot of people who believe that the truckers are just a spoiled working class who earn too much and that they should suffer like the rest / not protest etc. Most also believe that competition will eventually make the market better. Their opinion has been manufactured by the media propaganda and of course they do not really see how this will lead to a cartel of big foreign companies (like all other Greek markets).
In general, media is very hostile to this strike and presents the truckers as totally disruptive and at fault for many problems of the country. This media push influences many and thus the truckers have few sympathizers for their cause. Interestingly they have many more sympathizers by the group of people who opposes IMF control.
The government initially intended to vote the law affecting the truckers in late August-early September, but it brought it forward now, knowing full-well what would ensue, in the middle of tourist season. The question is why? Why do that? Many think (as Ive seen it expressed in the Greek blogs) that this is a social engineering application.
There have been some secret opinion polls in which it has been determined that people actually "respond well" when they are portrayed a national danger in the form of strikes. For example the strikes in the ports which made tourists go away was one instance where it worked magnificently. Most Greeks know the dire situation of the economy. So the media takes over and portrays any striker who hampers tourism, as "harming the economy in a time of crisis". So any striker is essentially blackmailed by the pressure of public opinion. Thus the government intentionally moved its law-voting in order for the truckers to be pitted against public opinion, in the middle of the tourist season, for "harming tourism".
Everyone will say "look how the truckers, in order to protect their benefits, defamed our country to tourists". But it is all social engineering really. There is no other reason to bring this law for voting 1 month earlier than planned, especially if it is to be activated in 3+ years (!!!).
So far, propaganda and social engineering have worked exceptionally well. Every time anyone strikes or protests or whatever, they are labeled a danger for the country or a danger for the stability of the country, or whatever. People, naturally wanting stability, are eager to exchange stability in favor of their support against instability factors. So when a strike occurs by the X work force, the government and media takes over and say that "they are harming the country". Thus everyone is pitted against them because they desire stability, thinking or hoping that the course that the government proposes might "save the country". But, at some point, people will start asking... "Im against the farmers, the truckers, the lawyers, the coal mine workers, the public sector employees, the bank employees, the port employees, the gas station owners, the pensioners, the X, the Z etc, but who am I with? Am I with the banksters? Am I with the media moguls? Am I with the thieves who are labeled politicians?" This "divide and conquer" tactic, with fragmentation-attacks is becoming increasingly transparent - but it is yet to reach critical mass.