They will not stop us!
On the night of March 11th, immediately after Prime Minister Conte’s announcement about the government’s decision to close only small stores, bars and restaurants, leaving open the factories, megastores, offices, banks and several means of transportation functioning, we launch a demand to labor unions to call for an immediate and indefinite strike in the private sector.
By Fronte di Lotta No Austerity 03/13/2020
It’s clear the government followed the instructions of the Confindustria [Industry’s Confederation], which is to say, of the rich capitalists (industrialists and bankers) who don’t hesitate putting the workers’ lives at risk to protect their billionaire earnings.
No one has fully understood how the coronavirus is spread: the declarations of the president of Confindustria, Boccia, who guarantees workers on the job «are protected», are therefore criminal. The only certainty we have is that today there are over a thousand deaths and the health system is crumbling after years of budget cuts by billionaires. The budget cuts were voted, approved and implemented by political leaders of center-right and center-left, from Salvini to Meloni, from Bersani to Zingaretti, from Monti to Renzi (the intensive therapy sectors were particularly affected by the budget cuts).
This is a government decision, shared by all the affected regions’ governors, including Zaia, from the Northern League, Salvini’s right-hand, who from the start opposed a strong resistance to the halt of commercial activities and production. The only certainty is that workers, employees, railway workers, are going to work, putting their lives and their loved ones’ lives at risk.
Fortunately, despite the embarrassing support, offered by the national directions of CGIL, CISL, and UIL, of the decision to not close the factories (they only asked for more workplace protection!), on Thursday March 12th, the workers made themselves heard… and crossed their arms en masse in all open factories. The strikes were proclaimed by various corporate syndicate entities or by sector, confederations as much as base entities (some base syndicates have already proclaimed a state of strike at the national level and have begun striking indefinitely).
Ongoing Strikes
The following cities are on strike: Brescia, Imp. Pasotti and various other big factories. In Asti, Vercelli and Cuneo, Mtm, Ikk, Dierre, Trivium are on strike. In the province of Mantova, Coneliani e Iveco, began to strike, while in Relevi a state of strike emerged. The strike started in Whirlpool, in the province of Varese, in Ast, in Terni, in Bretaña, in Cormano, in Electrolux, in Susegana, in the province of Treviso and in Fincantieri in Marghera. In Liguria, the workers of Fincantieri and ship maintenance are on strike. Two days of national strike have been announced at the national level in System House Srl, System Data Center and Out Spa (telecommunications).
Home delivery motorcyclists who are at risk of catching the virus due to home deliveries are on strike as well. In Tuscany, the strikes are ongoing in Piaggio, Pontedera, Gkn, Florence, Esselunga (where a national strike has been proclaimed). The workers of Almaviva are on indefinite strike and a 10 day strike has been announced in Ilva, Taranto. The workers of Alitalia of various sectors of services in the Fiumicino airport, despite not being able to strike due to laws against it, demanded to work in safe conditions and demanded a long blocking of activities. There are already more strikes programmed as facilities that had shut down for a few days are re-opening: from Ferrari, in Maranello, to many businesses in the rubber-plastic, chemical, and alike sectors. In the last few days, the workers of FCCA in Pomigliano were on strike.
By expressing total solidarity and support to the workers on strike, the militant Fronte Di Lotta No Austerity renews its calling to all labor unions to proclaim indefinite strikes in all sectors wherever possible, with the goal to protect the workers’ lives and their family members’ lives! The strikes must not stop until the lives of all the workers are secured!
Is your factory on strike? Tell us, it’ll be an example for many others. Would you like to organize a strike at your factory? Contact us, we can help you organize it. Contact info@frontedilottanoausterity.org
#iostoacasadalavoro
#nonsiamocarnedamacello
Translation: Anastasia Ransewak (?)
