Taxi drivers to demonstrate in Rome on day of strike.

Taxi drivers in Italy are to stage a nationwide strike on 21 May, trade unions confirmed on Wednesday, after talks stalled with industry minister Adolfo Urso in Rome.

Unions say they failed to receive the assurances they had sought from the minister on a range of issues affecting their sector, particularly in relation to the regulation of digital platforms.

In a social media post, the minister said he had raised "concerns related to the limited availability" of taxis in large Italian cities, a sore point for the powerful taxi driver unions which have long resisted attempts to issue new licences.

Ho incontrato oggi nel mio ufficio al @mimit_gov una delegazione di rappresentanti della categoria del settore dei #taxi. Nel corso dell'incontro, ho condiviso con loro le preoccupazioni legate alla scarsa disponibilità di autovetture che svolgono il trasporto pubblico di persone… pic.twitter.com/NDzh4IW8oC

— Adolfo Urso (@adolfo_urso) May 8, 2024

Cab drivers are set to stage a demonstration in the centre of Rome on the day of the strike, in Piazza di S. Silvestro from 11.00 to 17.00, leading to changes in the routes of some city buses.

The industrial action is backed by Italy's main taxi drivers' trade unions which say that taxi services will be guaranteed for the elderly, people with disabilities and the sick.

Last October taxi drivers staged a 24-hour strike in protest over the government's so-called Asset decree that allows city authorities to issue up to 20 per cent more licences to cope with demand.

Milan announced in March that it would issue a public tender for 450 new taxi licences, while last month Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri said the city "will have a thousand new permanent taxi licences" before the start of Jubilee Year 2025 when the Italian capital expects an influx of extra millions of pilgrims and tourists.