Taxi, national strike on 21 May: new protest against reorganisation of non-scheduled transport

It is not only the NCCs who have the so-called 'Salvini decrees' in their sights. Mobilising against the controversial package of measures designed to update the reference regulations for non-scheduled public transport are the taxis drivers, who have confirmed the national demonstration and strike of the category announced some time ago for Tuesday 21 May, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with guaranteed social transport services for the elderly, disabled and sick.

Fresh from a meeting, on 8 May, with the Minister of Made in Italy Adolfo Urso - who was also involved in the regulatory reorganisation promoted by Salvini - the representatives of the white cars (Unica Cgil, Fast, Ugl, Uti, Tam, Claai Unione Artigiani, Satam, Or.s..a. Taxi, Uritaxi, Atlt , Ati Taxi, Stan/Atn, Usb Taxi, Unimpresa, and Federtaxi Cisal) say they are disappointed by the minister, who 'did not give any particular reassurances on the final progress of the measures in question', which would have undergone substantial adjustments in the last few days. And they emphasise in a note that the stop on the taxi service 'will not be lifted', inviting their colleagues to 'remain vigilant': 'In the absence of any news', in fact, the strike on the 21st 'could turn into one of the biggest demonstrations ever carried out by the category. Never before have we been aware that we are staking our future and that of our families'.

The strike on the launching pad reflects taxi drivers' fears about the lack of protection of the taxi organisational model and possible surprises in the final content of the decrees, on which technicians at the Ministry of Transport are working. Decrees that Minister Salvini presented with a practically completed draft on 3 April after a lengthy consultative interchange with the categories concerned, cashing in hotly on the harsh opposition of the Ncc operators, and of the companies that manage the intermediation platforms (see Uber), which consider themselves harshly penalised by the regulatory reorganisation.

The taxi drivers' fears are confirmed by the general secretary Claudio Tarlazzi and the national secretary Marco Verzari of Uiltrasporti, according to whom Urso 'has in fact offloaded the responsibility to the Ministry of Transport on the stalemate of the texts of the implementing decrees and the Dpcm of which, as of today, the final texts are not known'. Also worrying the trade union front is 'the meeting held at the ministry with the global head of Uber', on which Urso 'did not shed any light'. "The decrees on the National Electronic Register and the Service Sheet, as well as the Dpcm for the regulation of Electronic Platforms," the Uiltrasporti leaders conclude, "are fundamental for the reorganisation of the sector, which currently sees a very high rate of abusive behaviour favoured by the lack of certain rules for everyone.