Truck stops 25-29 May: 'Give us refreshments now'

The date is fixed in red on the calendar: from 25 to 29 May, the people of the Tir will leave their vehicles in their garages and cross their arms in protest against the high diesel prices that are overwhelming the category. Unatras, which brings together 10 unions in the category, from Confartigianato to Legacoop, communicated the dates to the Strike Authority yesterday. However, in the communiqué that the association circulated yesterday morning, there is also a harsh condemnation of the United Transport acronym, which by proclaiming the stoppage of services as of last Sunday 'acted unilaterally, ignoring the formal invitation of the Strike Guarantee Commission to revoke its initiative'.

The stoppage was later lifted in the wake of a tragedy, the accident in which a 55-year-old truck driver lost his life when he was hit by a car on Sunday night while he was taking part in a protest by trucks on the A1 at the Caserta junction. 'Since dawn we have gradually begun to suspend the stoppage because this has upset us,' explained the organisation's secretary general Maurizio Longo. But meanwhile the controversy rages on. With Unatras clutching the family's grief, but refusing to sit at the same table as the association when it is received at the Ministry of Transport tomorrow. Assotir also joins in the condemnation and speaks of 'a disgraceful initiative that was launched too lightly, in total isolation'. The fracture is taking place while the crisis is biting, with companies bent by soaring costs and fuel that has exceeded 2 euros per litre. The issue comes to the table of the ministry in Porta Pia, which is currently hunting for financial coverage.

Minister Salvini says he is 'very concerned' and calls on the EU: 'If European rules are not changed, Italia risks coming to a standstill'. But companies want immediate answers. "What has not emerged in the public debate is that the excise duty discount for citizens has directly and paradoxically affected road haulage companies with a dry loss of 40 cents per litre," says Paolo Uggé, president of Fai Conftrasporto and Unatras. "We will go and hear what the government is proposing, we know that Minister Salvini is getting busy," added the leader of the truck people. "The solutions are known, the most urgent is that of refreshments, we are not asking for anything different from what already happened in 2022. But in the meantime a perfect storm is blowing on the sector.

At the centre is the soaring diesel prices, but other items weigh like a boulder on the accounts of a sector that is crucial for industry and for small and large distribution. Between the Ets, Alpine passes and Pnrr railway yards, freight transport in Italia is suffering its blackest period. Perhaps even worse than the one that began in 2022 with the crisis over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "The feeling is that there is a lack of awareness of what is happening,' says Alessandro Peron, secretary of Fiap. 'The repercussions of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz with all that follows will fall on the shoulders of the industry with a very heavy final bill in terms of the competitiveness of the entire system, not just road haulage. Trucks may have to pay 6 billion in extra costs in one year'. Anita (which is a member of Confindustria) has also put its foot down in recent days with an appeal to the government calling for 'indispensable and timely corrective measures' and an agreement with Brussels in derogation of the de minimis rules to support companies.