The Rome underground railway system is likely to be brought to a halt on Monday 27 February, due to a strike called by SULT the transport workers trades union. Only 100 of the 420 train drivers on the Rome underground are members of SULT but their absence from the morning shift is expected to bring the system to a standstill. The strike, which is a protest over longer working hours, will begin at 8.30 and end at 12.30.

Stefano Bianchi, the president of Metro Spa, the company which runs the underground railway says that working conditions have improved over the past ten years and the works shifts can be made longer without causing stress to the drivers. The new hours would enable the underground to carry 50,000 more passengers a day and would reduce the waiting time between trains.