ROME. «The petrol station strike must be revoked without “ifs” and “buts”, because all the reasons that led the managers to call the protest have disappeared». This was stated by Assoutenti, who fully shares the statements of the Minister of Enterprise of Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso. “If the strike should be confirmed – says the president Furio Truzzi – we are ready to organize protest initiatives against the managers throughout the national territory by consumers, including a counter-strike by motorists”.
“In the light of the latest government decisions, there is no longer any reason to strike – continues Assoutenti – because the transparency decree has been modified as requested by the petrol stations, with the elimination of the obligation to display the average daily price and the reduction of the penalties for dishonest distributors. Persevering on the path of the strike is equivalent to causing double damage to citizens, who on the one hand will suffer the closure of all plants on 25 and 26 January, including self-services and motorways, on the other they will not be able to count on transparency measures foreseen at first by the Government and eliminated under pressure from petrol stations”.
The Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso this morning asked for the strike to be revoked, launching an appeal to the trade associations to review the decision. “A decision that damages citizens: there is a discussion table that we will keep open on an ongoing basis until there is a reorganization of the sector”, assured the minister, speaking of “shady areas that damage those who work in full honesty”.
But in a joint statement the presidents of Faib, Fegica and Figisc/Anisa, the main petrol station operators’ trade associations, replied by arguing that “Minister Urso’s statements this morning are yet another demonstration of the confusion in which the Government moves in this affair”. His words “seriously risk closing any residual possibility of positively concluding the ongoing dispute. Palazzo Chigi should intervene and give a signal on the entire dispute». The note from the presidents of Faib, Fegica and Figisc/Anisa goes on to underline that «the government continues to ask for transparency, and we have offered it in every possible way. What one cannot ask is to authorize new obligations and new sanctions against the managers ». We have made concrete proposals to the minister, you value them without discharging the responsibility for your exclusive choices on the skin of the petrol station attendants. And you avoid evoking complacent pseudo personalistic character associations that have no representation. The trade organizations have always supported the need for an open confrontation until the last useful minute before the strike which was and remains confirmed».