ROME (AFP) – Italy faced a general strike yesterday, although the impact on transport was limited by a government order requiring providers to ensure a basic service.
The strike, called by two union confederations, lasted eight hours in all sectors except transport, which Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini ruled could only down tools for four.
The country’s main union – the left-wing CGIL – and the centrist UIL called the strike in protest at the draft 2025 budget tabled by the hard-right government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
They said it was “totally unsuitable to resolve the country’s problems”.
They want to see “an increase in purchasing power for employees and retired people, as well as funding for health, education, public services and industrial policies”, the CGIL said in a statement.
Italy, like France, has been singled out by the European Union for its huge deficit. It is under intense pressure to balance the books and slash its huge public debt, which is currently hovering at around EUR3,000 billion (USD3,200 billion). Meloni’s government has committed to reducing the public deficit to 2.8 per cent of gross domestic product from 2026 – well below the ceiling of three per cent of gross domestic product set by the European Stability Pact.
The target, which will be tough to attain, is predicted to require sacrifices, cuts in tax rebates and budget cuts for many ministries and public services.
A third union, the centre-right CSIL, is not taking part in the strike. CSIL boss Luigi Sbarra said on Thursday it was a “sterile, demagogic, populist protest” at a time when the draft budget has not yet been finalised.
The eight-hour stoppage affected numerous private and public sectors, including education, industry, health care, post office services and courts.
On public bus, metro and tram services, the strike lasted four hours from 9am to 1pm.
