Travelers in Italy will be very glad to hear that the general strike scheduled by the taxi drivers’ union to take place tomorrow, Tuesday, July 11th, has now been called off. The general strike’s coming has been foreshadowed for over a week by a number of wildcat strikes. Drivers have been causing turmoil all over Italy, as their interruption of service has left tourists and locals alike stranded at airports, train stations and city centers.
The government finally agreed to open discussions over the measures recently approved to liberalize the taxi industry and on Friday, union leaders met with Minister of Economic Development Pierluigi Bersani and other government officials for nearly three hours. Leaving the discussion room, Walter Veltroni, the mayor of Rome, said that the two groups had had a “constructive dialogue,” which was to continue today, Monday.
Veltroni says that he is convinced that after this event, Italy will develop a taxi service that is “more modern for the citizens”, and also “respectful of taxi drivers.” Thankfully, travelers should now have no problem getting around Italy’s cities, as long as talks continue as planned. Members of the taxi union, though, have threatened a continuation of the strike if their demands are not met. — Cailin Birch (Photo: Slowtrav.com)