Italy’s Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, has signed a decree ordering the civil mobilization of public transport staff ahead of a strike on 17 November.

The strike mobilization was called by the unions Cgil and Uil in protest against the draft budget of the Italian public drawn up by the Meloni government.

On Monday, an “independent guarantee committee”, whose members are appointed by the presidium of the Italian parliament, requested a “redefinition” of this strike, judging that it affects unevenly productive sectors of the country.

By signing the mobilization policy, Matteo Salvini essentially reduces the duration of the strike mobilization in the means of transport to four hours (from eight that were foreseen).

“This is a very serious political act and the silence of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who could have stopped Salvini, is truly deafening,” said Cgil union secretary Maurizio Ladini.