Mayor urges unions not to grind Rome to a halt.

Rome mayor Virginia Raggi has pleaded with trade unions representing employees from the city's 18 municipal companies to call off the general strike scheduled for Friday 25 October.

Appealing for "responsibility", the mayor took to Facebook to urge unions to cancel the planned strike for the "good of the city and the citizens" who "do not deserve it."

Inviting the unions to engage in dialogue, Raggi stressed that her administration would protect public jobs, highlighting the case of the city's transport company ATAC which she claims was saved during her tenure as mayor.

She also said that the municipal waste collection company AMA would remain public and that the Roma Metropolitane company would be "restored to health" after it undergoes it "controlled liquidation process."

Trade unions representing employees of the capital's 18 municipal companies say the strike will bring "Rome to a halt", and that they are "tired of living in degradation with poor services and employees working in humiliating conditions."

The strike will affect the city's entire public transport network, from 20.00 until midnight, as well as disrupting other sectors including rubbish collection, schools and social services.