...as the Italian hauliers' union takes to the road
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THE ITALIAN road hauliers' union FITA-CAN this week joined the Europe-wide clamour for relief from high fuel costs, tolls and other operating costs. Operators staged drive-slow protests near Bologna and Florence.
Although fuel in Italy is still cheaper than in the UK, it has risen from €0,88/lit at the start of 2004 to €1.20/lit.
The secretary of FITA-CAN, Maurizio Longo, says the union has calculated that 15,000 Italian transport companies are doing badly enough to face closure or bank ruptcy The average debt of each of Italy's 134,000 road hauliers is running at €200,000, due mainly to the increasing fuel prices.
Italian hauliers are demanding that their Government cuts its fuel Lax in order to reverse some of the recent price increases.