Slovene Truck Drivers End Blockade
Drivers began parking their rigs along highways Monday morning after their 14-day talks with the government failed to satisfy their demands. About 450 truck drivers parked their vehicles on the roads linking the capital, Ljubljana, with other major centers, as well as the one leading from Ljubljana to the border with neighboring Italy.
Later, others blocked two more roads, one leading to neighboring Croatia, and another linking Celje, in the northeast, with Ljubljana.
As the protests intensified, Finance Minister Mitja Gaspari and the minister of small businesses, Janko Razgorsek, agreed that drivers would get back wages which they say are two months overdue.
The truck drivers also sought the ouster of Razgorsek, whose ministry issues the permits. They apparently dropped that demand.
Truckers began removing vehicles from major thoroughfares after sundown.
When truck drivers staged a similar blockade several years ago, police dispersed them and fined each driver for illegally parking. Police made no effort to confront strikers Monday.
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