Italy

Italian students: We will not pay for their crisis

Ed — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:27:23 +0000

“We will not pay for this crisis” is the slogan of the Wave, the nickname used by students in Italy for their movement against the recent education reforms put forward by the Minister of Education, Gelmini.

Alitalia workers wildcat

Ed — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Alitalia said a total of 124 flights were canceled among all its operations Tuesday as a result of the wildcat strike a day earlier, as well as because of a work-to-the-rules job action, which pilots have been waging. The airline predicted some 50 flights would have to be scratched on Wednesday.

Warm autumn? Heat rises in Italian education

Ed — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:06:33 +0000

2.5 million people gathered last Saturday, October 25th, in Circo Massimo in Rome. The demonstration had been called by the Italian party PD (the Democratic Party, centre-left) whose leader Walter Veltroni was defeated by Berlusconi in the last election (Spring 2008).

Rebellion against Italian education reform grows

elios — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:19:14 +0000

Massive protests are taking place in many Italian cities and towns against Berlusconi's government school reforms, which consist of cuts on public university and research funds, the introduction of student behavior evaluation and the separation of foreign students from the Italian ones in different classes.

FIAT factory blockaded

mic — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:07:44 +0000

The mobilisation was organised by a workers committee, constituted independently from union membership. 99% of workers adhered to the strike, which was loosened on Monday 14th April when workers decided to only block gates for goods in an attempt to force the factory to a halt.

Alitalia workers clash with police over job cuts

Ed — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:26:09 +0000

No serious injuries were reported in the scuffles on Tuesday that took place as Alitalia negotiators met with unions to seek backing for the takeover. The deal, announced Sunday, requires the approval of parliament and all nine airline labor unions.

1962-1973: Worker and student struggles in Italy

Alex... — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:34:32 +0000

Rising from a period of centre-left coalition that had been marked by a constant failure to bring promised reforms to Italian society, the struggles of the 1960s acted as a pressure gauge for many sections of the Italian working class, one which was to reach its climax during the mass strikes of 1968-1970.

Italy 1977-8 - 'Living with an Earthquake' - Red Notes

Ret Marut — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 07:33:25 +0000

Link to PDF of pamphlet.

Published by Red Notes, London, UK, late 1970s

Dock unions urge for strike after workplace deaths near Venice

Ed — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:20:14 +0000

The call for a strike which could paralyse the country comes as Italy debates workplace safety following a fire last month at a ThyssenKrupp steel plant in Turin which killed seven workers.

Labor federations CGIL, CISL and UIL said in a statement they "strongly protest following incidents which reached unbearable levels in 2007 and, unfortunately, continue".

Anarchist communists and the Italian base union movement

JH — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:29:34 +0000

"The unions were born, historically speaking, in the workplace as a result of precise material needs of the working masses who made up its membership and under whose control they operated."
- Anarchist Communists and the Mass Organization (UCAT, 1984)