The week between 20 and 26 July is set to be the most critical of the month for anyone who finds themselves traveling in Italy, according to the strike calendar application of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. Four national strikes are expected in seven days, right in the heart of the summer exodus.
On Monday 20 July, local public transport stops patchily
The opening day mainly concerns local public transport: Autolinee Toscane folds its arms in Florence from 7pm to 11pm and in Prato from 2.30pm to 10.30pm, while in Amt of Genoa the stop covers both urban and extra-urban services from 11.30am to 3.30pm. CSC Mobilità stops in Latina for the whole day, with the usual guarantee slots between 6.30 and 9.30 and between 1.30 and 16.30.
Tuesday 21 July, the black day for air transport
The day that promises the most inconvenience is Tuesday 21st: national strike by EasyJet proclaimed by Usb, with the real risk of delays and cancellations on the British company’s flights, the slots from 7am to 10am and from 6pm to 9pm remain protected, as required by the sector regulations supervised by the Strike Guarantee Commission. The mobilization is supported by various acronyms from the airport sector: Geasar staff in Olbia and Alghero, Alha and Mle-Bcube employees in the Malpensa cargo area, GH Napoli and Sky Services employees in Salerno, Uab Dat Lt staff in Palermo.
22-23 July, Grandi Navi Veloci ferries stopped
The second national strike of the week is that of the workers of Grandi Navi Veloci, called jointly by Orsa Trasporti and Csle: it starts at 12 on Wednesday 22nd and ends at 12 on Thursday 23rd, therefore including all night routes. On the same 22 July, in the province of Cagliari, the BRT personnel also stopped.
Friday 24 July, the heaviest day for trains
The third national event, the one with the most widespread impact, concerns high speed and regional trains, with the sole exception of Italo, whose crews had already mobilized in the previous weeks. The strike begins at 9pm on Thursday 23rd and ends at 9pm the following day; the guarantee bands will be communicated by individual operators close to the date, according to what appears from the MIT Observatory on Industrial Conflicts.
Added to the railway protest are local agitations: RFI in Verona (same times as the national strike), the transport companies of the Marche from 11am to 3pm, Ferrovie del Sud Est in Puglia from 7.45pm to 11.45pm, Sita Sud in Salerno from 9am to 1pm. Also on the 24th, but outside the transport sector, A2A employees in Milan, Messina and San Filippo del Mela also stop, those of the Municipality of Menfi and the private healthcare staff of Obedience To Live in Orvieto.
On Saturday 25 July, it’s the firefighters’ turn
The week ends with the fourth national strike, that of the firefighters, from 3pm to 6pm, with urgent technical assistance still guaranteed (a protection which is among those examined by the Guarantee Commission for essential services. On the same day Arst in Sardinia also stops) from 9am to 12pm and from 5pm to 10pm for the railway sector, from 12.30pm to 1.30pm and from 4pm to 11pm for the automotive sector.
Why all these strikes in July
The concentration of dates is not accidental, given that the summer holiday kicks in from August, the period in which the law prohibits disturbances in essential public services. The unions, predictably, play their last cards before the break.
