Truck drivers in Sicily halted their vehicles at ports and company yards to protest soaring fuel costs, part of a wave of demonstrations that also disrupted traffic in Calabria, Basilicata and Campania in southern Italy.
Trucks belonging to members of the Sicilian transport committee stood idle at ports and did not unload ships. Others were parked in company yards as the strike by Sicilian truckers began.
“Participation is total,” committee coordinator Salvatore Bella said. “No heavy vehicles are moving in Sicily.” The committee planned a news conference later in the morning.
Bella criticized Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, though the text does not give Salvini’s title. He said he did not understand why Salvini had summoned unions that are not striking while excluding those that are. “It is unheard of to leave Sicilian truckers out,” he said.
Companies belonging to Confindustria Catania are not taking part. The group had initially announced a truckers’ strike from Oct. 16 to Oct. 22.
In Gela, in the province of Caltanissetta, dozens of trucks have been stopped since the previous night at a protest camp set up by farmers over fuel prices. Drivers who halted their vehicles along the roundabout at the town’s entrance said they can no longer bear the increases. They cited 8,000 euros more per year for each vehicle that travels 100,000 kilometers, and diesel that has climbed above 2.16 euros per liter, up 0.35 euros since February.
Traffic slowed, backed up and forced some drivers onto other roads at the entrance to Gela on State Road 117 bis, which links the town with Catania. Truckers briefly blocked the road near Castelluccio before it was cleared, in part because police arrived. Authorities are monitoring the situation. A procession of farm vehicles and tractors also traveled part of the Gela-Catania road.
Calabria
A protest called by Fedralog, the regional logistics federation, began in Calabria and is set to continue through the 20th. Trucks are parked along road edges without full blockades, under police supervision, though narrowed roadways are causing delays. About 15 sites have been identified, including near Lamezia Terme airport, the port of Gioia Tauro and A2 highway junctions near Cosenza.
The action adds to farmers’ protests that have continued for days. In Corigliano Rossano, high school students joined farmers who have occupied a roundabout on State Road 106 for three days. Farmer representative Mario Oliveto, who promoted the protest, led them by tractor, and Mayor Flavio Stasi was present.
Basilicata
Spontaneous truckers’ committees staged sit-ins and blockades, complicating road traffic. The region is also facing a fuel emergency because of a strike at Eni’s Taranto refinery. The worst problems were reported along the Ionian state road at the Calabria and Puglia borders and on the Bradanica road in the Vulture-Melfese area. Most filling stations in Potenza and other towns posted “sold out” signs. Farmers, backed by the Coldiretti agricultural group, planned a rally at 9 a.m. in front of the regional government headquarters in Potenza.
Campania
Truckers have protested since midnight on highways in the provinces of Caserta and Napoli, with vehicles gathered near the Nola toll booth on the A30 Caserta-Salerno and at Caianello on the A1 Milan-Naples. The sites leave a gap for other traffic but still cause delays. Others are at Caserta Sud. At about 9:15 a.m., Autostrade said the Nola exit on the A30 was temporarily closed in both directions, with a kilometer of backup toward Caserta. Highway police and Autostrade staff were on scene, and drivers were advised to use the Tufino exit.
