Pharmacists, lawyers and bakers joined taxi drivers on Tuesday in protesting against a liberalisation decree which would open their protected professions to competition.
Pharmacists are furious over plans to allow supermarkets to sell non-prescription drugs, saying the move will create risks for public health. Under the current system, drugs can only be purchased in chemists. But that means that Italians are often left searching around for the few pharmacies that are open during lunch-times, on Sundays and on holidays for things as simple as an aspirin.
Pharmacies are planning to shut down for a day and on Tuesday, provincial and rural chemists said they would join the protest. At the same time, lawyers demanded that the government abolish measures in the decree affecting their profession.
The decree, unveiled by new Premier Romano Prodi by surprise on Friday and drawn up by his Economic Development
Minister Pierluigi Bersani, abolishes the minimum fee regime adopted by lawyers. That would allow no-win, no-fee ractices to be introduced into Italy.
Lawyers would also be allowed to advertise their services and set up partnership firms. The Italian Association of Young Lawyers said that "the government must do some backpeddling - lowering fees and allowing indiscriminate advertising does not mean liberalising the market. On the contrary, it means putting it in the hands of large companies, the only ones who will be able to face with the costs and offer cheap services".
Meanwhile, bakers renewed their complaints over plans to abolish restrictions on the number of baking licences available. Assipan, an association representing 60% of Italian bakers, said that "this is just a gift to big retailers and
will allow bakers who have been operating illegally to legalise their businesses".
"The decree will penalise small, traditional bakers," it said. Taxi drivers have been in revolt for five days over the decree, which includes measures to deregulate the taxi licence system and increase the number of taxis in circulation.
All the categories of protesters complained about the government's failure to consult them over the measures. Banks have also slammed the decree, which will prevent them from charging client who close their accounts, as have notaries and car insurance firms. The costly approval of a notary would no longer be needed for the the sale of second-hand cars, boats and motorcycles, while certain restrictions on competition in the car insurance sector would be removed.
The government has stood by the decree, saying it will bring down prices and abolish anachronistic privileged market positions. Prodi said on Monday that the decree was in the "general interest" and would allow Italy to "lose 10 kilos of fat and gain 5 kilos of muscle". He added that the high price of bank and car insurance services were "out of order".
Bersani, meanwhile, said the decree was "just a start" and that other protected sectors would soon come under examination. Consumer groups applauded the decree, saying it would save Italian families up to 1,000 euros a year.
They urged the government to "stick to its guns", stressing that citizens would also benefit from the reduction in red tape.
