The fact that between Government and taxi drivers have both been met a agreement it does not make a reflection on what happened any less urgent. The wildcat and indefinite strike of the taxi drivers (in this context it is of little importance to establish whether we are dealing with workers in general or small entrepreneurs), which lasted five days, reproposes the "vexata quaestio" of the strike regulation in public services.
On other occasions there was immediately a strong reaction from the media and a debate was opened, this time the commentators moved with some delay, perhaps by now accustomed to or distracted by political events which appear more urgent because they are capable of undermining the stability of the village. The citizens have endured with a spirit of resignation, who knows what the consequences will be (if any) in the electoral appointments.
The question is very serious because, regardless of the merits, the solution of the conflicts that inevitably arise in a complex society that is not only undergoing the effect of globalization, but even more, the diffusion of new technologies that have a profound effect on the traditional structures of productive activities and services and, if not governed, traumatize the labor market.
In the case under discussion we are not faced, at least in our country, with feasible hypotheses in the short term which make available driverless taxis driven by robots, but the fact that important experimental studies are underway is no small matter.
The very strong bargaining power this category has (even if it is not the only one) is able to upset the life of big cities. It is striking that in recent days not only have we witnessed acts of violence and intimidation but that the alleged guarantee for the elderly, the disabled, the sick has turned out to be little more than a propaganda statement entrusted to the civic common sense of a limited number of taxi drivers .
The definition of rules for exercising the right to strike (an individual right but exercised collectively) public services cannot remain a blank sheet that is never written. These rules can certainly be preceded by self-regulatory codes or inter-union agreements but they must then become a real law, as stated by "the most beautiful Constitution in the world" and provide not only for the methods of calling and carrying out strikes but also sanctions in case of violation of the rules.
Today the only effective tool is precept of the Prefect, but it is not always easy to apply. The need for effective rules to regulate the exercise of the right to strike in the entire system of public services is independent of the merits of the claims or of an existing dispute and must apply to taxi drivers as well as to other categories of workers and businesses . Unfortunately, in the past, too many categories have plunged the knife of electoral blackmail into the butter of weak and resigned governments and local administrations. But if the analysis that these crises have a structural origin is true, this is even more unacceptable both because it is the weakest citizens who pay the price, and because the country's ungovernability is aggravated. We do not realize that even legitimate corporate struggles risk crashing into the wall of a unstoppable transformation process.
Taxi drivers have many reasons but also some (serious) wrongs. If the world changes, it is necessary to govern the change, after all it is the taxi drivers themselves who ask for rules against unfair competition. They are absolutely right when they denounce Uber's tax evasion, but what about the refusal to accept the issuance of the tax receipt? After all, the discipline of the strike is also a rule that cannot be rejected in principle. The micro world of taxi drivers experiences contradictions and concerns that must be faced with balance and determination. The weak point lies in the institutions at all levels called to account not only for good governance but also for the ability to build the future. We accuse Europe of attacking us with an "accounting" attitude when it asks for an adjustment of the accounts by 0,2% of GDP. But we can respond with effective reforms to enhance the low degree of competition in services which constitutes one of the causes of the modest levels of growth of our country?
