Italian unions vow to press ahead with Friday strike

ROME

Italian unions said Wednesday they will press ahead with a planned national strike later in the week, even after the government imposed limits on its duration.

Late Tuesday, Italy’s Transport Ministry said in a statement that it had cut the duration of the Friday strike in half to four hours in the morning just for the public transport sector.

“It’s a very serious political act: there’s no reason for urgency which motivates this intervention, which is an explicit attack on the right to go on strike,” said Maurizio Landini, secretary general Italian CGIL. “We confirm the strike will take place.”

Italian unions said they decided to call the strike against Rome’s 2024 budget, which they criticized for not providing enough investments in crucial sectors such as healthcare and education.

The government’s decision is the culmination of a spat with the unions, which saw the two sides trading barbs over the planned strike.

The planned strike involves many sectors of the Italian economy and, depending on the areas of the country and the sectors themselves, was planned to last between eight to 24 hours.

The country’s strike watchdog had called on the unions to limit it to only part of the day to avoid major disruptions, but the unions so far ignored such calls.