Salvini announces aid for truckers protesting over fuel prices

(ANSA) - ROME, 20 OTT - Deputy Premier and Transport and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini on Tuesday announced a package of aid for Italy's truckers, many of whom have been staging protests over the last week over soaring fuel prices. "We are working flat out to provide concrete answers today," Salvini told RTL 102.5 radio. "The 430 million euros already allocated are available. "We have decided that this money must start being paid out this week because many companies cannot wait. "We are also piecing together a complex jigsaw puzzle bit by bit. "I do not wish to pre-empt anything—out of respect for the people I am meeting in two hours' time," he added, referring to a meeting with road-haulage federations in Milan. "That said, there will certainly be additional resources". Protests involved truckers blocking roads or sealing off lanes to slow traffic started in many parts of the country, especially the south, last week, following strikes and sit-ins by farmers and fishers. They have already had an impact, with shortages of fresh produce affecting supermarket shelves and market stalls in places ranging from Catania in Sicily, Scalea in Calabria, Cerignola in Puglia, Mercogliano in Campania and Sora and Cassino and Fabrica di Roma in Lazio. Pasquale Russo, the head of the Conftrasporto truckers confederation, said last week that the nation's lorry drivers may be forced to bring the country to a standstill with a national strike to draw attention to their plight. (ANSA).
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