Fuel chaos, strike of the tyres in Sicily and Calabria

Protests by truck drivers against rising fuel prices have begun in southern Italy, with demonstrations spreading across several regions. In Calabria, the protests were initiated by Fedralog, the regional logistics federation, and are set to continue until October 20. Truckers are positioning themselves along roadsides without implementing full roadblocks, under the supervision of law enforcement. However, traffic disruptions persist due to narrowed lanes. Approximately fifteen such protests have been identified in the region, including areas near Lamezia Terme airport, Gioia Tauro port, and near exits on the A2 motorway in Cosenza. These protests coincide with ongoing demonstrations by farmers who have been protesting for days. Students from secondary schools in Corigliano Rossano (Cosenza) joined the farmers' sit-in against high fuel costs, which has been taking place for three days at the roundabout on the State Road 106 Jonica within the urban area of Corigliano. The students were accompanied by Mario Oliveto, a representative of the farmers and organizer of the protest, who led them from the municipal park in Corigliano to the demonstration site on the State Road 106. The mayor of the city, Flavio Stasi, was also present at the municipal park. A procession toward the roundabout on the State Road 106 is currently underway. In Basilicata, spontaneous committees of transporters have caused complications in road traffic, compounded by an emergency in fuel supplies due to the Eni refinery strike in Taranto. Significant disruptions have been reported since late last night along the Jonica state road, at the border with Calabria and Puglia, and in the Vulture-Melfese area on the Bradanica road. In Potenza and other Lucanian towns, most fuel stations have posted signs stating "out of stock." This morning, starting around 9:15, a mobilization of farmers organized by Coldiretti is scheduled to take place in front of the Regional Council building in the capital city of Lucania, with participation from several local administrators. In Campania, the protest by truck drivers against high fuel prices began at midnight and continues. Heavy vehicles are demonstrating near the Nola interchange on the A30 Caserta-Salerno highway and the Caianello interchange on the A1 Milan-Naples highway. These demonstrations allow passage for other vehicles but still create traffic issues. Additional trucks are demonstrating in Caserta South. The Highway Police are monitoring the situation. According to Autostrade, around 9:15, the exit at Nola on the A30 Caserta-Salerno highway was temporarily closed in both directions due to the demonstration held at the station. For the same reason, there is a one-kilometer queue between the junction with the A16 Naples-Canosa and Nola heading towards Caserta. Law enforcement officers from the Highway Police and staff from the 6th Section of Cassino of Autostrade per l'Italia are present at the location. As an alternative, using the Tufino exit is recommended. In Sicily, transporters who started their strike to protest against high fuel prices have blocked access to the Santa Lucia dock, which leads into the Port of Palermo. A truck that had loaded goods and was exiting was blocked and forced to return. "The strike shouldn't start on Friday," said a transporter, "because this would block shipments only for one day, considering that Saturday and Sunday follow. It should have started on Monday." Another transporter stated, "We shouldn't send empty trucks to the North so that they can come back to the South with the goods. Northern companies The government has scheduled two meetings for October 27. One at the Ministry of Transport with representatives of the transportation sector. The other at Palazzo Chigi regarding the situation at the former Ilva plant, involving unions participating in protests outside the Eni refinery in Taranto. These are two distinct issues that intersect both on the country's roads and on the government's agenda. Since October 12, worker demonstrations at the former Ilva plant have been blocking logistical flows entering and leaving the refinery. Eni reports increasing effects on airports in Puglia, fuel stations, and supplies to essential services and public utilities. In Sicily, trucks and heavy vehicles affiliated with the Sicilian transport committee are stopped in ports and do not unload ships and in company yards. Thus, the strike by Sicilian transporters announced earlier for high fuel prices has begun. The companies affiliated with Confindustria Catania did not join the strike initially announced by the transporters from October 16 to 22. "Adhesion is total," says Salvatore Bella, coordinator of the committee, who will hold a press conference today. "No heavy vehicles are circulating in Sicily. We don’t understand why Minister Salvini called the organizations that are not striking while excluding those that are. It’s outrageous to exclude Sicilian transporters from the discussion." Meanwhile, since last night, at Gela (Caltanissetta), at the protest set up by farmers to protest over fuel prices, dozens of trucks and heavy vehicles are also stopped. The transporters who halted their vehicles along the road roundabout leading into Gela say they can no longer afford the price increases, "Eight thousand euros more per year for each vehicle traveling 100,000 kilometers and a diesel price that has risen above 2.16 euros per liter, with an increase of 0.35 euros compared to February," they said. This morning, a new procession of agricultural vehicles and tractors traveled a section of the Gela-Catania state road. In Basilicata, transporters are stopping today in protest against the high fuel prices. The mobilization has a meeting point at the State Road 106 Jonica between Policoro and Scanzano Jonico in the province of Matera, the same road where a tractor march took place last week. The main motivation for the demonstration is the increase in diesel prices, with a request for a ceiling to ensure sustainable continuity of work activities. Vehicles are stopped on the side lane, and traffic proceeds slowly.