onourway

i've been warned of unpredictable and pending transit strikes is italy...should i be concerned?
we are not planning on renting a car, only traveling by train.

justretired

Strikes are a fact of life in Italy, but they are less disruptive than you might think, because they don't usually last very long. Italy has these curious short strikes, often lasting only a day, or sometimes even only a few hours. What the point of them is, I don’t know. In the US, the purpose of a strike is to cause enough pain to the management that they will give in to the union’s demands. I can’t imagine a four-hour strike doing a union the slightest bit of good. Maybe some day, someone can explain it to me, but in Italy, these things happen all the time. Frankly, it’s the main reason I tend to avoid Alitalia: you never know when your flight will be canceled by a surprise one-day strike.

We got back from a nearly three-week trip to Italy about a week ago, during which time we encountered two strikes. The first was a strike of the public boat service in Lago Maggiore. This cost us a bit of money, since we had to take a private taxi to get to our hotel, which was on an island.

The second was a four-hour transit strike in Milan, which also cost us money, since we took a taxi to the Duomo, instead of going by subway. I read about that one in a newspaper the day before. The strikes tend to be announced in advance.

I don't know if, or how often, there are train strikes. Even when there are strikes, certain critical services tend to be kept running.

It's just a minor annoyance one has to deal with in Italy, but it seldom turns out to be a big deal.

- Larry

onourway

grazie!

justretired

Here's some more info on strikes in Italy. They are so common, that there are web pages that index them (but, of course, the pages are in Italian). See, for instance:

http://www.commissionegaranziasciope...ciop_provv.htm
A click on the lower-right button, "Scioperi nazionale", will show all National strikes. For instance, as of today, June 16, 2006, we can see that there will be a strike of the State Rail System (Sector: "Trasporto Ferroviario", Business: "Ferrovie dello Stato&quot that will last 24 hours, starting at 21:00 (9:00pm) on June 20th ("24 ore dalle 21.00 del 20/6&quot.

On July 21, 2006, the Alitalia Pilot's Union will strike for 4 hours, from 10am to 2 pm. I don't know what this means for planes in the air at the time.

This recalls a recent joke story in The Onion, "133 Dead as Delta Cancels Flight in Midair":

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/42594

Here's another strike announcement site, also in Italian:

http://www.kataweb.it/utility/sciopero/frameset.html

So I guess we can strike the word "unpredictable" from the original post - these strikes are perfectly predictable. Indeed, they're usually announced well in advance. I've also heard that sometimes, the pre-announced strikes are called off at the last minute.

If anyone knows of similar announcements in English, I'm sure they would be appreciated by all.

- Larry

LoveItaly

I not sure about any English language websites that show strikes in Italy although I think I have some bookmarked.

The Italian law is that strikes have to be announced in advance. And often the strikes are cancelled. And even when there are train/bus strikes often certain train/busses that are on strike do operate during the commute hours. And the strikes only last so many hours. If you are staying at a hotel your hotel can probably advise you about any strike information. If you are staying in an apartment then do get a newspaper, or ask at a few cafes etc.

Regarding airline strikes, Alitalia, the air controllers etc., check with your airline.

It is a pain in the neck IMO.

onourway

your diligent research is much appreciated!