New fronts: Pharmacists and taxis against the multi-bill

As if the problems with milk were not enough, the Greek government has to deal with the reactions to the settings in taxis and pharmacies, in view of the multi-bill vote in parliament.

What mainly triggering the reactions is that it will be possible to rent cars under 1,500 cc with a driver to transport passengers. Also, the driver will not be bound for 12 hours but for 6 hours while hotels and car rental companies will be able to perform services heretofore exclusively provided by taxis.

The National Federation of Taxi Owners will meet today to decide their stance. "Unless the new regulations on the sector of rental private cars change, there will be a war. We will not allow the destruction of the taxis and tourist coaches sectors for the sake of specific business interests," President SATA Thimios Lymperopoylos says in "Ta Nea "newspaper today.

Pharmacists close their shops to protest the upcoming changes in their sector and in particular the ownership status contained in the bill filed in parliament today by the Ministry of Development.

Pharmacies are closed from last night, following the decision of the Panhellenic Pharmacists Association (PFS), excluding those in Athens that will stay open until 2:30 pm today. There will be a meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Athens (FSA) at midday to decide whether to participate in the lasting strike of the sector.

With the fronts of non-prescription drugs and the rate of profit to be in remission after the agreement of the troika and the Greek government to discuss these issues again next July, the new problem arises in the ownership of pharmacies.

PFS Chairman Kyriakos Theodossiadis talked about an "unprecedented mockery of the government, as it surprisingly and insidiously brings in the last minute the bill it agreed with the troika, containing changes in the status of pharmacies, leading the industry in disaster and public health at risk. The citizens who need medicines should supply them at the office of Development Minister Hadjidakis. Those MPs who intend to vote in favor of these provisions should take care to ensure medicines and for the people."

The provisions in the bill

According to representatives of pharmacists, a number of provisions of the Ministry for Development releases fully releases the working hours of pharmacies, allows pharmacists to own as many pharmacy licenses they wish and create partnerships with pharmacists and non-pharmacists, and gives the green light for co-location of pharmacies and other stores, for example supermarkets. Also, reportedly, the bill provides that pharmacies can have a minimum area of 5 sq.m. instead of 30 sq.m. in force today.

The Health Ministry says these settings are of minor importance considering they them will facilitate the entry of new pharmacists in the sector and allow the industry to respond to the crisis by setting up cooperatives. According to information and to restrain the pharmacists anger and protests it is thinking of adopting the German model for the issue of cooperatives which provides a cap for cooperatives for each unlicensed pharmacist.