Italy: basic unions join forces but are still divided over the creation of a union confederation

“Fully successful” strike. This is how Pierpaolo Leonardi, national Rdb Cub coordinator, qualified the general 24-hour strike launched by basic unions – Rdb, Cub, Cobas and Sdl Intercategoriale – on Friday, October 23. According to them, two million workers followed the movement, and 150,000 took part in the demonstration in Rome. There were other demonstrations in Milan, Florence and Palermo. In spite of the Transport Ministry limiting the strike to four hours, tens of flights were cancelled at the Fiumicino airport in Rome and about 15 flights were seriously delayed. The government says that the rail sector was fairly spared, with transportation stoppages in Liguria only, where basic unions are very strong. For urban transport, the Asstra, the association of the sector’s businesses, talked about “marginal” membership, with peaks in Venice (60%), Rome (54.67%), Trieste (47%) and Bologna (40%).
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y delayed. The government says that the rail
sector was fairly spared, with transportation stoppages in Liguria only, where basic unions are very
strong. For urban transport, the Asstra, the association of the sector’s businesses,
talked about “marginal” membership, with peaks in Venice
(60%), Rome (54.67%), Trieste
(47%) and Bologna
(40%).

“Unify the fight to
avoid paying the crisis.”
In Rome,
the demonstration had a slogan: “unify the fight to avoid paying the crisis.”
The claims notably regar

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