A strike by garbage workers in the Sicilian capital Palermo entered a second week Monday and police arrested two men for setting dustbins on fire, authorities said.
Firefighters were called out to douse some 60 flaming garbage cans during the night, authorities said.
Two men, aged 19 and 24, were arrested, police said in a statement that highlighted the danger of releasing dioxin by burning plastic garbage bags.
Workers for Amia, the garbage collection company with 2,700 employees, have been on strike over the past week over fears of lay-offs.
The city of Palermo said the company is 150 million euros (213 million dollars) in the red because it has too many employees.
The Italian civil protection head, Guido Bertolaso, a veteran of the rubbish crisis that plagued Naples, was to attend a meeting Monday in Sicily on handling the new garbage emergency, ANSA news agency reported.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
