Strike-hit Italy puts guards on petrol supplies

Police guards were put on petrol tankers driving through Italy today as the effects of the third day of a hauliers’ strike began to bite.

Many areas of the country are suffering a severe shortage of fuel and basic foods and some factories were forced to close after truck drivers blocked roads and border crossings.

They defied a government order to return to work and insisted they would stay out for the full five days of their planned protest over high fuel prices, long working hours and foreign competition.

In theory drivers who disobey the order could have their licenceses revoked. Those who block ports and roads risk jail sentences of up to four years.

However thousands of trucks were still parked on main roads today as their drivers stood nearby, huddled around fires and improvised barbecue grills.

The protest left many supermarket shelves empty, as perishable goods ran out and new stocks went undelivered.

“This is not good. They have no fruit, vegetables and milk,” said Giovanna Passo, a 40-year-old shopper at a downtown store in Rome. “It’s a disaster for my children.”

Many service stations across the country had already run out of fuel. In Rome, the few pumps still working attracted long lines that spilled into streets, causing further jams.

Petrol was rationed at the Vatican, where officials ordered pumps in the tiny city-state to sell no more than €20 worth to each Vatican employee.

Some trucks were reaching Rome under police escort, in an effort to ensure supplies for emergency services and public transportation.

But that did not help ordinary travellers.

“We can’t guarantee service,” said Alfredo Proietto, a taxi driver in Rome. “I filled up yesterday, but if the strike continues I will have to stop and so will everybody else.”

The strike forced Fiat to lay off thousands of workers because of a lack of supplies at factories. The farm lobby Coldiretti said farmers were losing around €48m a day, adding that it was considering legal action to recoup damages for the tons of perishable goods left rotting in warehouses.

Other groups also forecast crippling consequences.

Federalimentare, a food industry lobby, estimated a daily loss of as much as €200m, while a fishermen’s federation warned that €40m of fish were rotting in idle trucks.

The association of pharmaceutical distributors also warned of medical shortages if the strike continued.

Not all truckers’ unions were taking part in the strike, but the blockades were affecting all drivers – including foreign ones.

Some drivers who tried to get through the blockades were assaulted and had their vehicles stoned and tires slashed.

The government ordered the drivers to return to work by midnight yesterday after unions walked out of a meeting with the transport minister.