Associations representing Italy's gas
stations said Thursday that their members will strike on January
25 and 26 to protest against reports of allegedly speculative
price hikes at petrol pumps after the government ended a
reduction in fuel duties at the turn of the new year.
"The associations of (gas-station) operators have together taken
the decision to proclaim a state of protest throughout the
network to put an end to this 'wave of mud' against a group of
honest workers and try to re-establish the truth," read a
statement by the Faib-Confesercenti, Fegica,
Figisc-Confcommercio associations.
The statement said the associations would also stage a
demonstration outside the Lower House in Rome.
After the announcement, Environment and Energy Security Minister
Gilberto Pichetto said was the "legitimate right" of the
associations to call a strike.
Petrol and diesel prices have risen significantly since the end
of the duties reduction.
Prosecutors and the antitrust authority are looking into the
increases after consumer association complaints.
Premier Giorgia Meloni's cabinet on Tuesday approved a decree to
boost the transparency of fuel prices to stop speculative hikes.
Under the decree, gas stations will have to show the average
national price for the fuel alongside their own prices.
There will also be a cap on how high fuel prices can be set at
stations on motorways.
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