Unions hold general strike against government policy

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On 30 November 2004, the main Italian trade union confederations held a one-day general strike in protest against the government's economic and financial policy - especially the 2005 national budget and a recent tax reform - and called on the government to start negotiations with the social partners over boosting the country's economy.

The three main trade union confederations - the General Confederation of Italian Workers (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, Cgil), the Italian Confederation of Workers' Unions (Confederazione Italiana Sindacato Lavoratori, Cisl) and the Union of Italian Workers (Unione Italiana del Lavoro, Uil) - called a one-day general strike on 30 November 2004. The action followed a four-hour general strike on 26 March 2004 (IT0404102N) and a one-day strike on 24 October 2003 (IT0311102N). Once again, the main aim was to protest against the centre-right government's economic and financial policy, on this occasion specifically the 2005 national budget and a recent tax reform. The General Labour Union (Unione generale del lavoro, Ugl), which is close to the National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale) political party, also joined the strike call.

The unions stated that they had called the November strike in the light of 'the unavailability and unwillingness of the government to deal with the positions expressed by the labour movement'. According to the trade unions, the 2005 state budget (IT0408105N) is not able to solve the current serious social, productive and economic situation which they assert is making the country poorer, more discouraged and more depressed. Moreover, the tax cuts recently implemented by the government will not help the country’s economic recovery because only the richest sections of the population will benefit from them, it is claimed. According to the unions, the implementation of current reform plans will subtract resources from welfare provision, thus 'producing a reduction or a greater charge on citizens as regards the provision of services'.

The strike organisers made the following demands:

• actions against tax evasion and an increase in tax rates on income from financial yields,
• cuts in military expenditure;
• reductions in taxation on employment, an increase in tax-free income for retired people, special measures for people over 75 and for those who live below the poverty line, and reimbursement of 'fiscal drag';
• price reduction initiatives;
• the conclusion of sectoral collective agreements waiting to be renewed, in particular for public sector workers;
• measures aimed at fostering innovation, research, training throughout the country and development of the South on the basis of an agreements signed in November 2004 by trade unions and employers' organisations (IT0411107F);
• strengthening of the welfare system by adapting the national healthcare fund, improving the financing of the national fund for non self-sufficient people, strengthening social and housing policies, reforming the system of 'social-shock absorbers' (measures to assist workers affected by restructuring - IT0311306T), and taking specific measures against poverty and social exclusion.

According to the trade unions, the strike was a notable success, with more than 80% participation. Employers' bodies disputed this and described the level of participation as mediocre: according to the metalworking employers' association, Federmeccanica, turn-out in industry did not exceed 33%; while according to the Italian Banking Association (Associazione Bancaria Italiana, ABI) only 20% of employees in the banking and credit sector took part in the strike. Many problems due to the strike were recorded in the airports, with many flights cancelled. Demonstrations accompanying the strike were held in more than 70 cities and, according to the trade unions, more than 1 million workers took part.

Guglielmo Epifani, the general secretary of Cgil, spoke in Milan in front of more than 100,000 demonstrators and claimed that 'the government is isolated in its economic manoeuvres and does not have the support of either the trade unions, the employers or the local bodies, and the tax cuts implemented by the government provide little to the large number of poor people and a lot to a few rich people.' Savino Pezzotta, the Cisl general secretary, said in Venice in front of about 50,000 demonstrators: 'We have clearly entered a new political phase, where the government has decided to interrupt the dialogue with the social partners and to proceed by itself. This strike is a political strike because we do not agree with government economic policy and we intend to change it'. This comment was a response to those who had accused the trade unions of having organised a solely political strike. In Turin, Luigi Angeletti, the Uil general secretary, told about 60,000 people that 'each year about EUR 2 billion is lost in tax evasion, and for this reason the trade unions will keep fighting until the government tackles the problem of tax evasion.'

Many government representatives criticised the trade unions and the general strike. According to Maurizio Sacconi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Labour, 'participation in the strike was not that high - in the manufacturing sector only between 20% and 30% of workers took part.'