Today, November 8, is a ‘black’ Friday for those who travel by bus, tram and metro due to the 24-hour national strike called by the unions, complete with a demonstration in Rome in front of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.
Instead, regulate traffic on the railway network with Trenitalia, Italo and Trenord employees not joining the protest.
Why do workers go on strike?
Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl, Uiltrasporti, Faisa Cisal and Ugl Fna jointly proclaim the protest “for the renewal of the national contract (expired on 31 December 2023), for the lack of resources, for the lack of programming policies, for the reform of the sector and for health and safety at work”.
“No warranty band”
The traditional guarantee slots are also at risk: for the first time after 19 years the agitation may in fact not have safe time slots for travellers. “Friday 8 November, unlike previous strikes – explain the trade unions – there is no provision, in compliance with law 146 which regulates the right to strike and only once in the context of the dispute for the renewal of a national contract, for the total guarantee of the service in the time slots that protect the mobility of workers travelers but the use of 30% of the traveling staff will be guaranteed during the time slots established at local level and also the absolutely indispensable services for the generality of users such as connections with ports and airports as well as specialized ones of particular social importance such as transport of disabled people and school buses for nursery and primary schools”.
The unions have accepted the indications of the Guarantee Commission on strikes, which recalled in recent days that, even in the absence of guaranteed bands, “minimum services must be guaranteed to users on the basis of the legislation in force”. And he invited the category acronyms to “respect the rules”.
The garrison in Rome
The methods of protest differed from city to city, as reported on the official MIT website. The greatest disruptions are expected in Milan, Naples and Rome. In particular, it takes place in the capital a demonstration in front of the MIT, in Porta Pia, from 10.30am to 1.30pm. “Today’s – underline the CGIL and the Filt CGIL of Rome and Lazio – is a united strike, proclaimed some time ago, against the inertia of employers’ associations and governments regarding the conditions in which local public transport finds itself. we want to give workers a salary that can compensate for the loss of purchasing power caused by inflation, but there is no response from the Government on the national TPL fund which has been reduced for 15 years through direct cuts and failure to adjust to inflation , with all the negative repercussions that workers and commuters face every day: staff shortages, exhausted cars and obsolete infrastructure.
Conditions that fuel user exasperation. The ones who pay the consequences, with ever greater frequency, are the staff who find themselves victims of verbal and physical attacks”. Then under accusation are the cuts in the maneuver “to funding for the completion of metro C” and, they further observe, “yes continues to fail to recognize adequate resources for the real needs of Rome in the national public transport fund, which receives only 80 euros per capita compared to the 200 euros per capita of the city of Milan. In all of this, the additional resources for the Jubilee allocated to the public transport service remain negligible”.
Different modes from city to city
A Roma the A and B metro lines will be guaranteed (the B1 and C metro lines could remain directly closed), as well as some surface lines from the start of service until 8.30am and from 5pm to 8pm, and the companies of the public transport of major cities, includingNapoli, Palermo e Venezia.
In Milan the ATM has announced that the metro and some surface lines will be guaranteed, but only from the start of service at 8.45am and from 3pm to 6pm, while the M4 service between the San Babila stop and Linate airport will be guaranteed for the whole day.
A Torino the strike will have repercussions on all metro, bus and tram lines managed by GTT and only some journeys will be guaranteed from 6am to 9am and from 12pm to 3pm.
In GenoaAMT staff are expected to abstain from work for the entire shift, with approximately 30% of the urban transport service always guaranteed from 6am to 9am and from 5.30pm to 8.30pm, and extra-urban transport from 6am to 9am and from 5pm to 8pm.