Major Transport Disruptions for Sat. 16

Mayor Dario Nardella has announced the news of a 24-hour bus strike on Saturday, 16 December. While it may seem frustrating to many Christmas shoppers considering there was only recently a bus strike on December 3, this time it is due to Nardella calling a meeting with Ataf workers to discuss future working conditions.

Access to downtown Florence will be guaranteed during the following times of the day: 6 – 9:15 am and 11:45 am – 3:15 pm. No buses will run between both time frames and after 3 pm.

Bus strikes began originally because of the major construction of a new tramline running through the city centre and the implication this would have on bus services and their drivers. With this in mind Nardella plans to deal with the worker protest and help prevent future inconveniences to passengers.

Member of the Cgil and Rsu transport unions, Michele Lulurgas, explains that yet another strike has been scheduled because employees are still not entirely sure how stable their situation will be following the completion of the tram, with this in mind, the problem has escalated with workers threatening to quit their jobs.

Nardella says, “while Ataf is a private company, I will not allow them to create more problems for citizens and visitors. A second strike cannot take place during such an important time of the year like Christmas. What’s more Ataf has a duty to listen to the workers and take note of what they have to say. Employees are upset because they also have not received the correct salary owed to them, however, as city council we have already done our part, investing four million euros in the Ataf service. Now the company needs to deal with this themselves.”

To read more in Italian Florence’s La Repubblica news site. (karen gee)