Protesting lorries and petrol stations running dry: the two crises compounding the situation in the South

In the south, two protests are currently taking place which are unrelated to one another but are having the same effect: lorries at a standstill and petrol stations running out of fuel. On the one hand, lorry drivers in Sicily and Calabria are on strike until 20 October to protest the price of diesel, which has risen to over 2.25 euros per litre, and against the 440 million in aid promised by the government in May but never received. On the other hand, there are the workers from the former Ilva steelworks, who have been blocking the Eni refinery in Taranto since 12 October – a facility on which petrol stations in Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria depend. The result has been truck blockades along the A2 motorway in Calabria, traffic delays on the SS 106 Jonica and the Bradanica in Basilicata, toll booths intermittently blocked in the Foggia area, empty petrol pumps between Foggia, Cosenza and Catanzaro, and airports in Puglia forced to ration fuel for aircraft.

In Sicily, since midnight, semi-trailers arriving at ports have not been collected by hauliers and remain stationary in the yards. The work stoppage, announced by the Sicilian Transport Committee and registered with the Ministry of Infrastructure, applies to member companies transporting goods on behalf of third parties, from midnight today, 16 October, until midnight on 20 October. This is not an island-wide strike: the companies in the Transport section of Confindustria Catania, which had initially announced their own action from 16 to 22 October, have not joined the strike. No roadblocks or toll booth blockades are planned. At the ports, ships continue to unload their cargoes, but the semi-trailers belonging to the striking companies remain in the terminals and do not reach warehouses, markets or retail outlets.

The regional strike called by Fedralog Calabria is also set to run until 20 October. Protest camps have been set up near the port of Gioia Tauro, at Lamezia Terme airport and at several junctions on the A2 motorway in the Cosenza area. Lorries are parked at the sides of the carriageway and, under the supervision of the police, do not completely block the passage, but traffic is slowed down at the affected points. The protest is part of a campaign that began in recent weeks, when farmers, tractor drivers, fishermen and traders in Calabria had already taken to the streets to protest against the cost of fuel and energy.

The strike is driven by the price of diesel, which the Ministry of Enterprise reported yesterday as averaging 2.256 euros per litre at self-service stations on the road network and 2.278 euros on motorways. On 5 October, the excise duty discount on diesel – 6.1 cents per litre – expired, and the ‘floating excise duty’ mechanism announced by the government to replace it depends on price trends and VAT windfall revenue; therefore, it does not guarantee a definite discount. For the time being, prices are being kept in check mainly by the price caps and discounts decided by the oil companies at the government’s request, which remain in force until 31 October.

However, the main demand from hauliers concerns the funds already promised. In May, the government had announced funding to mitigate the rise in fuel prices, which the sector estimates at 440 million euros and which has not yet been disbursed. To this are added the costs of ferries and the delay in payments under the Sea Modal Shift scheme – the public incentive for companies that choose to transport their semi-trailers by ship along the so-called ‘motorways of the sea’, rather than by road, in order to reduce traffic and emissions. For those operating between Sicily, Calabria and the rest of Italy, this is a significant item in their budgets, and the delays are particularly burdensome at a time when diesel is at its most expensive.

For the time being, the strikes are regional, but the tone adopted by the trade associations has become more strident: lorry drivers say they are “ready to bring Italy to a standstill”, and the threat of a national strike is on the table. The Ministry of Infrastructure has called a meeting with the trade associations for 27 October at 4.00 pm, which will also be attended by representatives from Palazzo Chigi, the Ministry of the Economy and the Ministry of Enterprise.

The other half of the crisis stems from Taranto. Since 12 October, workers from the former Ilva have been blocking access to the Eni refinery, as part of the dispute over the steelworks, measures relating to the redundancy scheme and whilst awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision on the hot area. In the early days, dozens of tankers were left stranded, and Eni reported that more than fifty of the approximately three hundred petrol stations supplied by the plant had run out of fuel, warning that if the blockade continued, it might be forced to shut down some units at the refinery. The refinery supplies Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria, and the shutdown also affected airports: Bari and Brindisi reserved their available fuel for emergency, rescue, medical and state flights, whilst airlines reorganised their operations by refuelling at other airports. This morning, the blockade of the refinery was lifted, and the strike at the former Ilva site is set to end at 11 p.m.: deliveries are expected to resume, although it will take a few days for petrol stations to be restocked.

The protest, which has been ongoing in the Foggia area since Sunday, has centred on the empty petrol pumps. Farmers, lorry drivers and traders have organised picket lines in Vieste, in the Cerignola industrial estate and near the Poggio Imperiale and Candela motorway toll booths. In recent days, the section of the A14 between Termoli and Poggio Imperiale has been closed in both directions to allow the demonstration to take place, and the Candela toll booth has been intermittently blocked. The farmers are protesting against the cost of agricultural diesel, which has risen to over €1.60 per litre, and against the prices of olive oil and olives, which they consider too low in relation to the costs of harvesting.

In Basilicata, disruption on the Jonica road between Policoro and Scanzano Jonico and on the Bradanica road, in the Vulture-Melfese area, is due to roadblocks set up by spontaneous committees of lorry drivers: lorries and tractors are stationary on the hard shoulders and traffic is moving slowly. Here too, the protest is compounded by difficulties in finding fuel, as petrol stations rely partly on supplies from Taranto. In Campania, some lorry drivers are staging a sit-in near the Nola toll booths on the A30 Caserta–Salerno motorway and at Caianello on the A1, whilst allowing other vehicles to pass freely.

The two crises also share a common date. At midnight on 20 October, the work stoppages in Sicily and Calabria will come to an end, and this is the same day on which the Court of Cassation is due to rule on the hot zone at the former Ilva site – the dispute that sparked the blockade in Taranto. On that day, it will become clear whether the two protests will fizzle out together or flare up again. Then, on the 27th, there is a meeting at the Ministry of Infrastructure, where it will be decided whether the lorries from the South will remain a regional issue or turn into a nationwide standstill.