Public transport workers in Italy, urged by the United Base Confederation (UBC) union, are holding a nationwide 24-hour strike on Friday that could significantly complicate the transport situation in the Apennines.
“The government is spending billions to foment the destructive conflict in Ukraine, taking resources from our salaries, cutting public health spending, effectively turning workers, pensioners and the weakest sections of society into poverty. Public sector workers have poverty wages and the so-called public workplace no longer attracts young people precisely because of low salaries, huge workloads and limited opportunities for career development,” the Italian trade union said in a statement.
Transport workers are demanding a renegotiation of collective labour agreements, wage increases, the introduction of a minimum wage and an end to utility and energy tariff increases.
The strike covers the entire transport industry in Italy with the exception of the railways, whose workers went on a nationwide eight-hour strike a week ago.
Some workers at state-run educational and medical institutions have also joined the transport workers’ strike today.
Russia earlier sent a note to NATO countries over arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that any cargoes containing arms for Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that NATO countries were “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. The Kremlin said that pumping weapons into Ukraine from the West did not contribute to the success of the Russian-Ukrainian talks and would have a negative effect. Lavrov also said that the US and NATO were directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, “including not only by supplying weapons, but also by training personnel… on the territory of the UK, Germany, Italy and other countries”.
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