Italy on Monday was paralysed by a 24-hour national and urban transport strike called by unions in support of a single national contract for the transport sector.
Unions said they had called the strike in the face of ''hostility'' declared by employers despite support from Public Works Minister Altero Matteoli for negotiations on the four-year contract, which would cover 250,000 workers in the sector.
This is the second strike in two months over contract negotiations after the sector's collective contract expired on December 31 last year.
Bus, tram and local train services will be guaranteed during special time windows to allow Italians to get back and forth to work.
These windows vary from city to city.
National rail services are scheduled to return to normal at 21.00 on Monday.
