In Italy, thousands of workers went on strike against the budget law of Prime Minister Meloni’s ultra-right government. Employees from the public sector, railways and local transport companies took part in the strike.
In Italy, thousands of public sector, railway and local transport workers have gone on strike – the protest is directed against the budget law of the ultra-right government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“Meloni, the people are hungry,” read one of the posters held up at a rally in Rome’s central Piazza del Popolo. There were also protests in other cities such as Genoa and Milan.
The strike was called by two of the country’s three major unions, the CGIL and the UIL. Its motto was: “Adesso basta”, now that’s enough. In addition to local and long-distance transport, there were also strikes in schools, hospitals and the post office. Taxi drivers also abandoned their cars.
Serious allegations against the Meloni government
The protests are directed against the government’s draft budget for the coming year. The unions accuse Meloni that the tax cuts planned therein are election gifts with which the head of government wants to attract votes before the European elections in 2024 – at the expense of employees and pensioners and important areas such as education and health. The employee representatives are demanding, among other things, more financial relief for employees.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who is also transport minister, drew additional ire from unions by halving the allowable length of the strike from eight to four hours to ease rail problems. CGIL boss Maurizio Landini accused him of an “attack on the right to strike”.
The strike was originally declared a general strike. However, the employee representatives are divided; the large Catholic union CISL is not taking part in the strike.
With information from Jörg Seisselberg, ARD Studio Rome