Italian taxi drivers halt wildcat strike after deal with government

Italian taxi drivers went back to work on Wednesday, after staging a long wildcat strike in all major cities across the country to protest against a Uber-related draft bill, which is under discussion in parliament.

The strike ended after a deal was struck between taxi drivers unions and Italy's Transport Minister Graziano Delrio late on Tuesday night.

But the strike on Tuesday, the sixth day of the strike, saw chaos in the Italian capital after angry protesters clashed with anti-riot police, which was deployed as the rally was not authorized, near the ruling Democratic Party headquarters.

According to Ansa news agency, the scuffles led to at least seven injuries, including four police officers, and four arrests of protesters on Tuesday.

Taxi workers protested against a government's wide decree that was perceived as favoring Uber and other similar services. More specifically, the decree would have postponed the introduction of new norms to regulate such services until the end of 2017, instead of March as previously expected.

Protesters argued that a prolonged lack of norms would help de-regulating the sector, and unjustly favor app-based car-hailing services.

Yet, there are also voices calling for a more liberalized industry to offer customers a broader choice in terms of car transport solutions in cities.

After the six-hour meeting with all unions on Tuesday, the Ministry of Transport announced the cabinet would approve two specific provisions within a month to integrate the current legislation, and regulate car-sharing and car-hiring services.

Meanwhile, the government's decree that sparked the protest is expected to be passed, untouched, by the lower house this week. The cabinet called a confidence vote on the draft, which was expected to take place late on Wednesday.

The senate had already approved the draft last week. Endit