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 participated in the strike.
In Italy, thousands of workers in the public sector, railways and local transport went on strike – the protest is directed against the budget law of the far-right government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“Meloni, the people are hungry,” said one of the posters hanging at a rally in Piazza del Popolo, in the center of Rome. There were also protests in other cities such as Genoa and Milan.
The strike was called by two of the country’s three main unions, the CGIL and the UIL. His motto was: “Adesso is enough”, enough is enough. In addition to local and long-distance transport, there were also strikes in schools, hospitals and post offices. Taxi drivers also abandoned their cars.
Serious allegations against the Meloni government
The protests are directed against the government’s draft budget for next year. The unions accuse Meloni that the tax cuts provided for there are electoral gifts with which the head of Government wants to attract votes before the 2024 European elections – at the expense of employees and retirees and important areas such as education and health. Workers’ representatives demand, among other things, more financial relief for workers.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who is also transport minister, drew additional ire from unions by halving the permitted strike duration, from eight to four hours, to alleviate rail problems. The head of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini, accused him of “attacking the right to strike”.
The strike was originally declared a general strike. However, workers’ representatives are divided: the large Catholic union CISL is not taking part in the strike.
With input from Jörg Seisselberg, ARD Studio Roma