Italy's petrol station operators are going on a 48-hour strike as an act of protest against a "shameful smear campaign" and what they see as the government's faulty measures in the energy crisis, three trade unions say.
The strike will begin at 7 pm (1800 GMT) on Tuesday and continue until the same time on Thursday. The Faib, Fegica and Figisc/Anisa unions called on their members not to allow self-service during this time either.
The strike comes as a response to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's measures to fight the rise in fuel prices. Among other things, the financial police were ordered to inspect petrol stations because of possibly unjustified price increases.
In addition, operators were obliged to publish the average price per litre from their region in addition to the price of petrol charged at their pumps. Violators face fines.
According to the trade unions' strike call, the measures punish the businesses but do not help the customers.
At the beginning of January, some prominent politicians, among them infrastructure minister Matteo Salvini, had claimed that fuel had risen due to price speculation by petrol stations. However, in reality petrol and diesel have risen in price because the government abolished some fuel discounts.
Because petrol stations are basic service providers, some pumps will have to remain in operation during the strike. In addition, those petrol stations that are directly operated by the oil companies could also remain exempt from the strike.
