Taxi, strike and protests throughout Italia against government and multinationals' apps

The Italian taxi drivers cross their arms. The reasons for the strike on 5 May - led by Naples and followed by other Italian cities - are to be found in the declaration of war by white cars on black cars, i.e. those run by the international application Uber and the Ncc system. A stop to rides from 8am to 10pm is planned in the main Italian cities, turning May into a red dot month due to the numerous demonstrations called by local public transport.

The strike called in Naples was also joined by Rome, Milan, Turin. The only ones to postpone the strike were the Bari taxi drivers due to the coincidence with the St Nicholas celebrations. The other white cars are ready to warm up their engines for the demonstration called tomorrow - 5 May - in the main Italian cities. In Milan, a parade of 150 cars is scheduled to leave from the Central Station with a presidium in Piazza della Scala. The parade in Naples will start from Piazza Garibaldi to Piazza del Plebiscito. Finally, the demonstration in Rome will start from Piazza Bocca della Verità towards Campidoglio.

'We are protesting against the invasion of the NCCs, who, also thanks to international applications such as Uber, are becoming de facto taxi drivers, circumventing the rules and destroying the legal market,' thunders OR.S.A. Taxi national secretary Rosario Gallucci against the Prefecture of Naples.

The taxi drivers are demanding more controls from the institutions, but not only that: the strike is also called to confront 'the army of private individuals who advertise themselves on social networks' who, according to the union, offer rides at excessively advantageous prices. Added to this is the unravelling of the knot to be unravelled of the courtesy cars of hospitality establishments such as B&s that pick up clients at nerve centres such as the airport and the central train station, which, according to Gallucci, would not be allowed.

In addition to the protest called by the category to denounce the working conditions in which they operate, there is also another knot to untie, but one that only concerns Roman taxi drivers. Framing the procession against the multinationals, there is also what the white cars are experiencing after the Campidoglio's decision to make taxi drivers work 'at rest' to cope with the increase in tourist flows. A number of trade unions did not like the decision of the Municipality of Rome, and the white cars of Rome will meet at the Campidoglio.