There was another anti-Uber protest on Thursday, this time in Italy, with at least 1,000 taxi drivers targeting the Senate building in Rome.

Hundreds more took to the streets in other major cities, including Milan, Turin and Florence.

They are against a change in the law on whether drivers have to return to their garages after each journey. They say the changes are unfair and would give Uber drivers greater freedom to ply for fares.

One of the protest leaders in Rome said: “We are very angry. We are honest workers and we are upset by the fact that these illegal taxi drivers will be legalised.”

The transport and infrastructure minister Graziano Delrio has agreed to meet drivers’ representatives next Tuesday (21 Feb.) to discuss their grievances.

The taxi unions are a strong lobby group in Italy and have repeatedly fought off attempts to liberalise the industry and increase the number of cab licenses available.

The taxi drivers’ action is part of larger protests against EU moves to relax licensing rules and open up a range of services to competition.