Salvini moves to limit impact of Friday's strike on public transport services.

Italian transport union USB has said it will defy a government order limiting a planned 24-hour national general strike on Friday 13 December.

Deputy premier and transport minister Matteo Salvini issued an injunction on Tuesday curbing the public transport element of the strike, which is also set to affect education and healthcare services.

The injunction reduces to four hours the 24-hour strike, using the same mechanism employed by Salvini in the past, most recently to curb a strike against the government's budget last month.

The nationwide industrial action, which is set to affect trains, metro, buses, taxis and ferries but not the airline sector, was organised to protest against the "dramatic worsening of working conditions”.

In a post on X announcing the order, Salvini acknowledged the right to strike but said "the rights of workers, citizens, students and people undergoing [medical] treatment must also be respected, especially in a critical time such as the pre-Christmas period", adding that "common sense is needed".

Ho firmato l’ordinanza per ridurre a 4 ore lo sciopero dei trasporti previsto per questo venerdì.
Il doveroso diritto alla mobilitazione deve rispettare anche il diritto alla mobilità di lavoratori, cittadini, studenti e persone in cura, specialmente in un periodo critico come… pic.twitter.com/e7ain7J4B9

— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) December 10, 2024

However the USB union has said that it will defy Salvini's order and that the strike will go ahead as planned.

USB Trasporti secretary Francesco Staccioli told news agency Adnkronos on Tuesday that the strike action was legitimate and in line with "the most stringent legislation in Europe".

Following Salvini's injunction, the strike timetables for Friday have been changed:

Railway staff are scheduled to strike from 09.00 to 13.00 on Friday 13 December, resulting in possible "cancellations and changes" to rail services operated by Trenitalia, according to its website.

Trenitalia informs that from 9am to 1pm on December 13th, due to a national strike, rail connections to and from Fiumicino Airport may experience delays or cancellations https://t.co/ASdSJqZoZB pic.twitter.com/6K0KMcEImF

— Aeroporti di Roma (@AeroportidiRoma) December 12, 2024

The strike will also impact the local public transport sector, affecting subway, bus and tram services in cities across Italy, with the usual minimum services guaranteed during strikes at rush-hour times.

Rome's local public transport services will be at risk from 09.00 to 13.00, according to the ATAC website, with the ATM public transport services in Milan are set to be affected during the same hours.

Since becoming transport minister two years ago, Salvini has issued injunctions to curtail strikes several times, a tactic fiercely contested by Italy's trade unions whose relations with the government are increasingly tense.

The upcoming industrial action follows a recent spate of strikes in Italy affecting air travel, trains and local public transport, including a nationwide train strike called after train conductor was stabbed.

For official information about upcoming strikes in Italy see the transport ministry website. 

Photo Wanted in Rome: Stazione Termini, 26 September 2023.