ROME, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Railway workers across Italy staged a strike on Tuesday, demanding increased workplace security after a train conductor was stabbed in the northern city of Genoa on Monday.
The eight-hour general strike, held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time, was organized by all unions representing employees of major rail companies, including Trenitalia, FS Security, Italo NTV, and Trenord.
The strike has caused widespread disruption nationwide, with most trains canceled and remaining services facing delays of up to three hours at major stations including Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence, and Naples, according to the Ansa news agency.
The protest responded to "the violent and repeated assaults on front-line staff registered in recent months," the unions said in a letter to the Transport Ministry.
The unions claimed that, despite repeated calls to address the attacks, no action has been taken to protect railway staff.
The latest incident of violence occurred on a regional train in the northwest Liguria region on Monday afternoon. A 44-year-old train conductor was conducting routine ticket checks when he encountered two young passengers, a 21-year-old Egyptian man and a 16-year-old girl, traveling without tickets.
The conductor was stabbed by the man while attempting to escort the pair off the train. He was subsequently rushed to a hospital in Genoa in a serious but non-life-threatening condition.
The two passengers were detained by police at the scene. The attacker was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and resisting a public officer, while the young girl was charged with the same offenses but was not taken into custody.
