Italy's gas stations to strike January 25-26

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 12 - Associations representing Italy's gas stations said Thursday that their members will strike on January 25 and 26 to protest against reports of allegedly speculative price hikes at petrol pumps after the government ended a reduction in fuel duties at the turn of the new year.
    "The associations of (gas-station) operators have together taken the decision to proclaim a state of protest throughout the network to put an end to this 'wave of mud' against a group of honest workers and try to re-establish the truth," read a statement by the Faib-Confesercenti, Fegica, Figisc-Confcommercio associations.
    The statement said the associations would also stage a demonstration outside the Lower House in Rome.
    After the announcement, Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto said was the "legitimate right" of the associations to call a strike.
    Petrol and diesel prices have risen significantly since the end of the duties reduction.
    Prosecutors and the antitrust authority are looking into the increases after consumer association complaints.
    Premier Giorgia Meloni's cabinet on Tuesday approved a decree to boost the transparency of fuel prices to stop speculative hikes.
    Under the decree, gas stations will have to show the average national price for the fuel alongside their own prices.
    There will also be a cap on how high fuel prices can be set at stations on motorways. (ANSA).