Calabria protest and the threat of a Rome trip

Fedralog Calabria began a regional protest on 16 October against high fuel prices, with about twenty truck sit-ins at sites across the region's provinces. The federation is acting together with counterpart federations in Puglia, Sicily and Basilicata. Sites named include the port of Gioia Tauro, the Eni refinery at Vibo Valentia, the Falerna motorway junction and the area of Lamezia Terme airport. Regional coordinator Mario Pansini warned that the drivers would take their trucks to Rome if the protest ends without answers.

“We are ready to go to Rome with our trucks if by 20 October, the last day of our regional protest, we have not had concrete answers to our demands.”

Fedralog will not attend the ministry meeting on 27 October, because it does not belong to Unatras, the grouping of unions that was invited. Pansini said this does not change the federation's intention and called on business groups and civil society to join the trip to Rome. Separately, Pasquale Russo, head of the Conftrasporto confederation, said on 15 October that lorry drivers nationwide could bring the country to a standstill with a national strike.

Fuel shortages in Calabria

Fuel supply problems in Calabria stem partly from blockades at the Eni refinery in Taranto by former Ilva workers, which were lifted on the morning of 16 October. Domenico Concolino, the Catanzaro representative of Faib Confesercenti, said a shortage at the fiscal depot in Vibo Valentia, which supplies the rest of the region, meant fuel only reached it on the morning of 15 October. A new blockade that morning stopped Eni tankers from leaving the Vibo refinery, and talks with the prefect were under way to secure the transport. In the Cosenza area most petrol stations have run completely dry of petrol and diesel. Concolino said he was moderately optimistic, noting that some oil companies had already made deliveries and adding:

“I therefore think the others will manage it too in the end.”

Motorway disruption in Salerno and Andria

In the province of Salerno, the Nola exit on the A30 was closed temporarily in the morning, and the Nocera-Pagani exit was closed in the afternoon with that stop still in progress. On the A2, drivers faced disruption at the Eboli exit, and a lane between Battipaglia and Campagna was shut. In Andria, the city council set up a permanent crisis table after workers protested on the ring road and slowed traffic. Mayor Giovanna Bruno met the protesters, and the council asked the local health authority to step up checks on whether olive oil labels match the product. Olive growers say extra virgin olive oil prices have fallen below production costs. In Corato, Mayor Corrado De Benedittis joined workers in the street and said the town's crisis needed formal recognition.

Foggia and Palermo protests

In Manfredonia, in the Foggia province, a protest in the industrial zone brought together truckers, farmers and sailors before a march toward the town centre. The mayors of Monte Sant'Angelo and Mattinata attended, along with Puglia's regional assessor for infrastructure and transport, Raffaele Piemontese. Manfredonia's mayor, Domenico La Marca, criticised the government for ignoring rising fuel costs.

“The government is pretending nothing is happening, and it keeps pushing up fuel prices.”

The councils of Mattinata, Manfredonia and Monte Sant'Angelo are set to approve motions asking for a state of crisis. The archbishop of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo, Franco Moscone, also joined the demonstration in solidarity with farmers, sailors and truckers. Other protests took place in Orta Nova, San Giovanni Rotondo and San Nicandro Garganico. In Palermo, a striking worker said the strike was planned until 22 October and would continue indefinitely if no agreement was reached, becoming a full strike once warehouses emptied.

Government response and the 27 October meeting

On 16 October, Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida condemned the blockades on social media, saying that protest is legitimate but that halting roads to prevent distribution of goods is a crime. He said the blockades could leave shops short of goods or push prices higher for millions of Italians, and warned that many products on stopped trucks could become unusable. Lollobrigida called for free movement of traffic and for the supply of goods to be guaranteed. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has scheduled a meeting with road haulage representatives for Tuesday, 27 October, at 4:00 PM at its Porta Pia headquarters in Rome. The Premier's Office, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy are also set to be invited.