Socialist Party members to take part in walkouts in Italy
Dock workers’ unions have announced an international day of action for 30 October, with organisers reporting support across more than 100 ports in 17 countries opposing arms shipments through ports and the militarisation of waterfronts. Some of the biggest strikes will be in Italy where dockworkers have taken strike action previously over arms shipments to Israel. Socialist Party members will be travelling to Italy and taking part on 30 October. Below are extracts from the leaflet being given out on the day.
Last year’s 4 October general strike showed what united action between the trade union federations could achieve. The action involving millions of workers across Italy in COBAS, USB and CGIL, was declared Illegal but Meloni and her capitalist politicians were powerless to stop it.
Now port workers in Italy and across Spain, Greece, Morocco and elsewhere have taken the bold step for strike action on 30 October
Even in Southern Ireland, where national union action has not taken place for many years, over 20 public sector unions came together for a general strike over pay on 14 October.
It’s still possible for workers across all sectors in Italy to co-ordinate action across the country to win inflation-busting pay rises. This would require bringing together workplace representatives from the major employers both regionally and nationally to plan a strategy of united action.
It’s welcome that the CGIL has called a general strike on the cost of living for 20 November. But we need trade union unity to force the bosses and the Meloni government to pay up.
As a first step, all the other trade union federations should call a general strike for 20 November!
It is urgent that the campaign to defeat Meloni involves building a working-class political voice. Next year’s election is the ideal opportunity to put the programme for working-class unity and action to the whole of Italy. To prepare for this, workers’ representatives from the trade unions and students and young people taking to the streets could meet and prepare a workers’ list for that election. They could stand on the basis of:
- A living minimum wage with an automatic pay rise each year to meet the cost-of-living crisis
- An end to all public sector cuts to restore funding to pre-pandemic levels
- Money for education not war. End the arms trade and the use of Italian ports for military transport especially to the Israeli state
- The nationalisation under democratic workers’ control of the key sections of industry, the banks and finance institutions
