No-one is challenging the right to
strike, Labour Minister Marina Elvira Calderone said on Thursday
morning after trade unions reacted angrily on Wednesday to an
injunction issued by Deputy Premier and Transport Minister
Matteo Salvini limiting the one-day general strike they have
called for Friday, affecting the transport sector in particular,
to four hours.
"The right to strike is fundamental and must absolutely be
reaffirmed and confirmed, no one has called it into question,"
said Calderone.
"In the sphere of essential services it is necessary to respect
rules that serve to protect the rights of citizens" such as
"mobility", she added.
"Injunctions have been issued on many other occasions, they are
not unheard of," concluded the minister.
Italy's UIL and CGIL trade unions have called a general strike
on Friday in protest against the 2024 budget bill, which is
currently before parliament.
However, earlier this week the country's strike watchdog said
the stoppage did not meet the requirements for a general strike
and ruled that it should be rescheduled - a decision that the
unions rejected.
On Wednesday UIL General Secretary Pierpaolo Bombardieri
described the injunction as an "act of institutional squadrismo"
(fascist thuggery) and said they would respond "with a big
demonstration" in Rome's Piazza del Popolo.
CGIL leader Maurizio Landini subsequently announced that the
transport sector strike would last for just four hours, from
nine in the morning to one in the afternoon, instead of eight
hours, as a sign of responsibility towards workers who might be
sanctioned for arriving at work late.
Salvini said he was satisfied with the reduction and that "good
sense has prevailed".
Premier Giorgia Meloni said the injunction had been "shared" by
the rest of the government and that it had no intention of
limiting the right to strike.
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