Thousands of Portuguese taxi drivers protest against gov’t regulationLISBON, April 29 — Thousands of Portuguese taxi drivers drove their car into Lisbon on Monday in protest against government’s decision to shift the transportation of non-emergency patients by them to firefighiting department.
The taxi cabs from across Portugal started off from Lisbon’s Expo area towards the building of the Ministry of Health. Decorated with slogans and black ribbons, the cabs in two rows ran slowly with horns blaring all the way.
A group of organizers who led the taxi cabs chanted slogans opposing government’s new regulation on patient transportation.
The decision of shiftng transportation of non-emergency patients from taxi cabs to firefigting department by the ministries of health and economy will not only cost patients more but also inflict bigger difficulty on the taxi drivers, one of the organizers told Xinhua.
The taxi drivers’ protest came after the governemnt started implementing more austerity measures to reduce public expenses and stimulate economic growth early this month.
The Protuguese government is forced to carry out tough austerity measures to meet the deficit reduction goals set by the troika comprising the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank for the bailout.
The govenrment move has triggered widespread protests from various groups in the country in recent months.
http://www.nzweek.com/world/thousands-o ... ion-62452/
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