Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
MESSINA / CATANIA – The squeeze of high fuel prices has sparked protests among hauliers in Sicily. Since last night, the first blockades of heavy goods vehicles have focused on the motorway toll barrier at Tremestieri – Messina Sud, the gateway to the Strait, paralyzing truck traffic while leaving two lanes open to allow conditional passage of cars under constant monitoring by the Polizia Stradale.
The domino effect quickly reached Catania’s road network as well: protests and slowdowns are reported at the San Gregorio toll booth along the A18 Catania-Messina motorway, where the concentration of trucks on the carriageway is causing severe disruption to normal traffic flow.
Division within the sector: CTS awaits Salvini, while owner-drivers block toll booths
The mobilization is unfolding amid sharp internal divisions in the industry. The coordinator of the Comitato Trasportatori Siciliani (CTS), Salvatore Bella, clarified mid-morning that the work stoppage declared by his organization applies solely to the island’s ports:
«The vehicles of our companies are parked and will remain there until tomorrow, Tuesday, October 20 – says Bella –. We are awaiting the outcome of the roundtable discussion scheduled in Milan with the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini. If our demands are met, the port stoppage will be lifted immediately».
However, the CTS position does not reflect the entire sector. While the committee primarily represents intermodal dock-road operations, the large base of owner-drivers in road-based fruit and vegetable transport has opted for a hardline approach, blocking toll booths and effectively rendering meaningless the assurances of free movement of goods by land toward Calabria.
Forconi movement sides with hauliers: “Same unsustainable costs”
Adding to the emergency is the intervention of the Comitato Agricoltori Sicilia, led by the historic leader of the Forconi movement, Mariano Ferro.
«Sicilian farmers are forced back onto the streets by an unsustainable situation regarding production costs and the price of diesel – Ferro insists –. We demand to be summoned by the relevant ministry together with the transport and fishing sectors for a single crisis roundtable. Without structural solutions, thousands of small and medium-sized businesses are destined to close. We will formally send a note to both the National Government and the President of the Sicilian Region Renato Schifani and the regional minister for Agriculture Luca Sammartino».
The evolution of the protest and the resilience of regional traffic depend on the outcomes of the government meetings scheduled in the coming hours.
