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Italian public transport workers go on strike

An Italian public bus with a sign reading “strike” drives in front of traffic police. (File photo)

Thousands of public transport workers have gone on a 24-hour strike in Rome against corruption and mismanagement in the public transport company, Press TV reports.

The Friday strike, called by the national trade union UGL, was aimed at piling pressure on Rome's public transport agency, ATAC, to carry out a review of its expenditures.

It also called on the government to re-negotiate workers' national collective agreement, which has remained unchanged since 2007.

“In the past 10 years, we have witnessed an endless series of scandals and corruptions which tarnished the reputation of the public transport company. We called for today’s strike because we believe that the way things are run is absurd and goes against workers’ rights,” Valentina Lori, the secretary of the UGL, told the Press TV correspondent in Rome.

ATAC has amassed losses of at least 1.6 billion euros. Unions argue that most of the deficit is rooted in mismanagement, and accuse the agency of lacking proper oversight and accountability.

The entangled traffic and disrupted business in Rome caused by the strike ignited protests by hundreds of irritated passengers. Tensions erupted in some subway stops when passengers were asked to leave carriages and evacuate stations.

Italy has seen a worsening economic situation in recent years, which has also led to a rise in the unemployment rate among Italians, with nearly 13 percent of the people without work.

A report published in February by the Caritas charity revealed that one in four Italians are at the risk of poverty or social exclusion.

Italians have been staging protests against high unemployment and economic hardship over government-imposed austerity packages in recent years.

RS/AS/MHB


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