This Friday, national strike will disrupt Italy’s public transport

The school sector in the country will also be affected as, simultaneously, teachers plan to walk out of their duties that day

A new 24-hour labour strike has suddenly popped up on Italy’s October calendar after it was confirmed by the trade unions. The national industrial action will take place on Friday, 20 October, and will affect a wide range of private and public transport services, at the local, regional and countrywide levels.

Trade unions representing the interests of employees working in these sectors are demanding better conditions in terms of pay, reduction of working hours and a freeze on the government's military spending, among other demands.

Watch out for these transport sectors striking in Italy

As far as railway services are concerned, the disruption is actually set to begin the night before on 19 October at 21:00 and end at 21:00 the following day, so you’re best advice to pay attention to the social media channels and websites of the Trenitalia, Italo and Trenord railway operators.

The good news is that at least a modicum of train services are guaranteed in the following time slots: 06:00-09:00 and 18:00-21:00.

Peak-hour services are also guaranteed for Rome’s local public transit services before 8:30 in the morning and then between 17:00 and 20:00 in the evening. Night bus services, however, are at risk of being disrupted.

As for Milan, the local metro is scheduled to run normally until 18:00, after which you could expect disruptions. Buses and trams in that city will only have guaranteed regular services between 15:00 and 18:00.

Air travel in Italy will also be in a state of disarray on Friday, as ITA Airways have already cancelled 20 domestic flights on Friday as a result of the strike. Likewise, there will be a guarantee of services, though. This goes for national flights in the periods 7:00-10:00 and 18:00-21:00.

In addition to the transport sector troubles, the same day, full-time and temporary teachers will not go to work in Italy, which means there will be no classes on that day. Ironically, that might actually lessen the traffic on the streets and the resultant inconveniences that would arise in the wake of the transport strike.