Unions Vow to Defy Italy's Ban on Friday's Transport Strike

Italy's transport minister on Tuesday ordered transport workers not to join Friday's general strike, The Local Italy reported, and the unions vowed to defy the order. Walkouts in schools and hospitals are still set to go ahead in dozens of towns and cities. The directive reaches the transport sector; on the paper's account it does not call off the wider stoppage.

Friday's action is the second general strike in Italy this month, The Local reported, with rallies planned in cities across the country as unrest over the cost of living continues. The wave has already produced arrests: a roundup of Monday's news in the same outlet recorded nine people detained during protests, alongside the energy company Eni's decision to extend a cap on fuel prices as its profits rose.

The order sets a direct test between a minister and the unions over who decides whether the trains run. The Local's report gives no indication of how the ministry intends to enforce the directive, nor whether any arbitration is open before Friday. Nor does it say which services — national rail, local buses, ferries, freight — the order is meant to cover.