Petrol-station groups call off 2nd day of strike

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 25 - Petrol station groups Fegica and Figisc Confcommercio on Wednesday called off the second day of a two-day strike in protest about being accused of price gouging after prices rose when the government failed to renew a duties cut.
    A third group, FAIB, had already decided Tuesday to cut the strike from Wednesday and Thursday to just Wednesday.
    Fegica and Figisc Confcommercio said they were revoking the second day of the stoppage "in favour of motorists and certainly not the government".
    The nationwide petrol-station strike to protest at measures imposed on the sector to improve price transparency was taking place on Wednesday after getting underway at 19:00 on Tuesday.
    The petrol-station-operator associations, however, had split in relation to the length of the protest, with the Fegica and Figisc/Anisa groups confirming a 48-hour strike, while the FAIB group cut its protest to 24 hours.
    The government had been trying hard to avert the strike over its measures, which include an obligation for operators to display a list of average prices alongside their own in a bid to avert speculative hikes, with stiff fines for failure to do so.
    The administration has promised amendments that would water down the penalties for failure to comply.
    Fuel prices in Italy have risen significantly since the government ended a reduction in duties at the turn of the year.
    Some gas-stations were not striking.
    An ANSA reporter saw several open for business on the way into work in Rome on Wednesday. (ANSA).