Protests over the “Green Pass”
Corona passport in Italy’s working world is now mandatory
Protesters are in the streets of Bologna with flags to demonstrate against the so-called “Green Pass”. Photo: Michele Nucci / LaPresse / AP / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Italy is introducing the 3G principle – vaccinated, recovered or tested – in the world of work. There are protests, but little has changed for the majority of the workforce – because they are vaccinated.
Accompanied by protests and isolated strikes, but without much chaos, Italy has introduced the “Green Pass” in all areas of the world of work.
Around 23 million employees will have to show the Corona certificate as proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test in order to get to their workplaces in offices, factories, shops or restaurants. Such a comprehensive measure to combat Covid is unique in Europe.
Protests in many places
Accordingly, there were protests in many places on Friday at the start of the new phase. The chaos predicted by some critics did not materialize. Hundreds of workers struck the country’s two main ports in Genoa and Trieste. From the early hours of the morning, demonstrators tried again and again to block parts of the two ports. The loading operations were not significantly affected.
Freight traffic on the road did not come to a standstill either, as was partially forecast. Because many truck drivers are not vaccinated or not vaccinated with a vaccine approved in the EU, the hauliers feared massive failures. However, the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi accommodated them at short notice and made exceptions for foreign truck drivers – which in turn caused outrage among the Italian associations.
New measure aims to avoid closings
With the measure announced a month ago and now coming into force, Italy wants to increase safety at work, thereby avoiding closures of companies, such as last autumn and winter, and encouraging those who refused to vaccinate to rethink.
85 percent of Italians over the age of twelve have been vaccinated at least once. For the employees among these 46 million people, practically nothing changes in their day-to-day work. They receive the “Green Pass” – the QR code that is also known in Germany, for example – and can use it to go to their workplaces, but also to cinemas, theaters, museums, long-distance trains or discos.
Critics and opponents of vaccinations accuse the state of depriving them of their right to work. Anyone who cannot pursue their job because they do not have a Covid certificate does not receive any wages. In some pharmacies, the dates for tests are fully booked until the end of the year. The port workers in Trieste have already announced that they will strike until the obligation to provide evidence is abolished. The state of emergency in Italy currently runs until December 31st.
Police at demonstrations on site
“Libertà, Libertà” (Freedom, Freedom) shouted protesters in the afternoon on the field of the Circus Maximus in Rome. At the rally with a few thousand participants, Edoardo Polacco from the Mille Avvocati per Difendere la Costituzione association said that the trade unionists had sold themselves out to politics.
A protester said the regulations were unfair for many, especially since the corona tests are chargeable. Getting vaccinated is a personal decision and not a duty. The police were on site with many emergency services to prevent possible excesses.
On Saturday there were riots in Corona demos with injured people in Rome. Before the start of the rally in the Circus Maximus, demonstrators symbolically distributed flowers to the police.