A new “Friday black” is coming soon 13th December because of one general strike of 24 hours that will involve trains, metro, bus, taxi e maritime transport, starting from the evening of Thursday 12 December. The aviation sector will be spared on this occasion, but not for long: his turn to protest is scheduled for the 15 December. The mobilization was proclaimed by the basic union Usb, with the support of the acronyms Fi-Si and Usb Lavoro Privato. However, the intervention of the Minister of Transport is not excluded Matteo Salvini, that could limit the impact of the strike, opening a new chapter in the tug of war with the unions.
The motivations
The unions highlight the difficult conditions of workers: stagnant wages, grueling work shifts, widespread use of precariousness and contracts that worsen the quality of employment. They also denounce national contracts with inadequate increases and worsening working conditions.
Transport strike schedules for Friday 13 December
The strike on December 13 will involve several transport sectors with times e mode multiple. Here are the details:
- trains: stop from 21pm on Thursday 12 December until 21pm on Friday 13.
- Metro, bus e tram: they will stop during the same 24 hours, but with different times and methods from city to city and guaranteeing minimum service time slots.
- Transport maritime: closed from 00:01 to 23:59 on Friday 13th.
- Taxi: Taxi drivers will also strike, but not all white cars may join.
Trains on strike 13 December: timetables and services guaranteed
I trains will be affected by the strike from 21:00 pm on Thursday 12 December at 20pm on Friday 59th. The staff of FS group, Trenitalia, Trenitalia Tper e Trenord will participate in the protest, with possible cancellations or changes to services. Trains are guaranteed during essential time slots on weekdays, from 6:00 to 9:00 and from 18:00 to 21:00. However, disruptions could also extend outside these hours. Passengers who cancel their trip can request refunds or reschedule their itinerary: for Intercity and Frecce trains, by the scheduled departure time, and for Regional trains until midnight on the day before the strike.
Transport strike 13 December: here are the timetables
even the local public transport will be severely affected. A Rome, the strike will affect the Atac network, peripheral buses operated by private operators and Astral-Cotral lines. Services will be guaranteed during protected time slots, from the start of daytime runs until 8:30 am and from 17:00 pm to 20:00 pm. Disruptions will be possible starting from the night between Thursday 12 and Friday 13, with night-time runs not guaranteed on some lines, such as line 8 and several main buses. Disruptions are also expected in the metro-railway stations, with possible interruptions for escalators, elevators and ticket offices. A Milan, ATM transport (metro, buses and trams) will be stopped outside the protected time slots: service active until 8:45, suspended until 15:00 and resumed regularly only until 18:00. Trenord will instead guarantee trains in the protected time slots of the morning and evening, with replacement buses for airport connections to Malpensa.
A Bologna e Ferrara, the strike of Tper travelling staff will take place respecting the guaranteed time slots, with interruptions of bus and trolleybus services from 8:30 to 16:30 and from 19:30 until the end of the service. The disruptions will affect urban, suburban and extra-urban transport, which will not be guaranteed during the strike hours.
Strike on Friday 13 December and the spectre of requisition
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Matteo Salvini, expressed strong irritation at the strike announcement, threatening interventions to limit its impact. Salvini declared: "The right to strike will be guaranteed, but not in the face of everyone and everything because they are exaggerating".
In the next few hours we will see what decision the government will take in tug of war with the unions. During the general strike of November 29, Salvini had intervened with the precept, reducing the duration of the strike to just 4 hours for local, air and sea public transport, while rail transport was excluded. The measure had led Cgil and Uil to appeal to the TAR, but the Administrative Court had rejected the appeal, to the minister's "great satisfaction".
Salvini orders, but the TAR rejects it: the strike will last 24 hours
On Wednesday 11 December, Minister Salvini had an ordinance was signed to reduce the general strike of transport on December 13 from 24 to 4 hours, calling it “inadmissible” a few days before Christmas. The USB union had rejected the request, openly declaring that he did not want to respect the injunction. Salvini had justified his decision as an attempt to balance the right to strike with the right to mobility of Italians.
On Thursday, however, the Lazio TAR has USB's appeal accepted, cancelling the ministerial order and restoring the original duration of the strike. According to the judges, the injunction lacked the necessary extraordinary motivations and was not supported by the Guarantee Commission. The expected inconveniences, in fact, fall within the normal dynamics of a strike and do not justify a limitation.
“Tomorrow it strike will last 24 hours. A legitimate strike from the beginning,” he declared Francis Staccioli, of the confederal executive of USB. “Today the pronouncement of the TAR that suspends the ordinance and sets the hearing on the merits of Salvini's ordinance, we believe that it is simply an act due for the justice of this country – he underlines – we ourselves had told the minister that this act had no justification. The endorsement of the guarantee commission was not even there”. The pronouncement “certainly makes this strike usable and relieves the workers from an illegitimate sanction”, he specifies.
For his part, Salvini expressed disappointment, "we have done everything possible to protect the mobility of Italians. Citizens will be able to thank a TAR judge for the inconveniences that will occur” the Minister underlined.
Last updated 12 December at 16,10
