Close to the start of the 48-hour gas station strike, which began at 7 pm yesterday, the government attempted to rescue a corner kick, summoning leaders to the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy in the afternoon. A quick confrontation in which the unions received a series of proposals from Minister Urso. But the executive’s guarantees, apparently, were not enough and Fegica and Figisc/Anisa confirmed the strike, calling for today, at 11:00 am, an assembly of the class entities’ directive groups, in the Capranichetta hall of Piazza Montecitorio, also open “to deputies and senators from all parliamentary groups”.
However, a gap opened up in front of the gas stations: Faib Confesercenti, in a sign of “appreciation” of the minister’s work, decided to reduce the strike to just one day.
Among the proposals put on the table by Urso, a significant easing of the sanctions provided for in the legislative decree stands out: a 90-day moratorium for compliance with new obligations, confirmation of the reduction of sanctions for non-compliance to 200/800 euros relative to turnover , considering that in case of repeated communication failure four times in 60 days, the closing of the point of sale would be reduced between one and seven days. In addition, the possibility of communicating prices with each change – and in any case every 15 days instead of every week – together with the elimination of the signal with the difference between self and served.
As for motorways, the average prices to be presented would be specific to the motorway segment. The proposal for a new round for the next 8th of February would also come from Mimit, to take stock of the reorganization of the sector, addressing a wide range of issues, including contractual illegality, bank commissions, rationalization and reconversion of the network. “Too little and too late”, was the comment of Fegica and Figisc/Anisa, who, despite having appreciated “the attempt in extremis”, did not see the necessary concreteness to untie the knots. In fact, if the framework for restructuring the distribution network and re-establishing a regulatory plan “goes in the good and desired direction” the hypothesized changes in the decree, “in addition to not being sufficient, are now in the hands of Parliament. What remains in the background is the idea of a category of workers who speculate with fuel prices. Which is false and unacceptable.” Faib’s sentence is less harsh, which sees positively the openings presented and already formalized with the amendment to the decree: “namely – he explains in a note – the significant reduction of penalties, the rationalization of signaling at power stations, the quick convening of a supply chain table to solve the sector’s centuries-old problems, starting with the illegality of contracts and the reduction of costs in electronic transactions». Hence the proposal for a one-day strike instead of two, which will therefore be one of the items on the agenda for today’s meeting.
Meanwhile, fuel stations are closed, including self-service, from 7 pm yesterday to 7 pm tomorrow (on motorways, however, they leave from 10 pm yesterday until 10 pm tomorrow). However, no less than 50% of establishments open on public holidays are kept open according to scheduled shifts. Open systems to guarantee the minimum essential service must be at least one every 100 kilometres.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
