Italian truck drivers agreed to call off a protest that has blocked highways and borders for three days, causing shortages of gasoline, medicines and perishable foods across Italy, government officials said.
"We expect that over the coming hours the situation can go back to normal," said Enrico Letta, Cabinet undersecretary, after talks with union representatives late on Wednesday.
At least three unions said they would ask workers to immediately end the protest, according to Italian reports.
PHOTO: AP
Farmers associations and other groups warned that it would take days before stocks would be fully restored across the country.
The strike by thousands of drivers idled factories and left many gasoline pumps dry, with the ones operating attracting long lines of cars and scooters. Many supermarket shelves emptied as perishable goods ran out and new stocks went undelivered.
The drivers protesting high gasoline prices, long working hours and foreign competition had originally planned to strike through today.
Drivers' representatives walked out of a meeting with the transport minister on Tuesday, breaking off negotiations meant to end the strike. Shortly afterward, the drivers defied a government order to go back to work and instead kept up their protest.
But after a new round of talks on Wednesday in Rome, unions decided to call off the strike.
"I am satisfied at the outcome of a negotiation that has brought the country back to normal," Italian Premier Romano Prodi said.
The government has proposed, among other things, to create a watchdog group to monitor the sector and to find ways to offset high gas prices, news reports said. Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi said the government would also embark on a reform of the sector next year.
The protest is estimated to have cost farmers and businesses millions of dollars.
According to the farm lobby Coldiretti, farmers were losing around 50 million euros (US$73 million) a day. The group said it was considering legal action to recoup damages for the tons of perishable goods left rotting in warehouses.
Federalimentare, a food industry lobby, estimated a daily loss of as much as 210 million euros, while a fishermen's federation warned that 40 million euros worth of fish was rotting in idle trucks.
Automaker Fiat, which had idled thousands of workers because of a lack of supplies at factories, said it expected to reopen plants yesterday. Coldiretti said it would take a week to fully replenish supermarket shelves, and welcomed a decision by Bianchi to allow trucks to travel on Sunday, when they are usually banned.
Gas stations were expected to be refilled within the next 48 hours, said the Unione petrolifera association.
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