A big general strike today called by Cobas, Cub and SDL and, with completely different claims, by CGIL.

Millions of workers participated, despite for many of them this one was the second or the third strike in less than two months, in a period of heavy economic straits, oppressing all wage earning workers.

Despite the bad weather conditions all around Italy, hundreds of thousands workers were in the streets in the 20 demonstrations (12 were regional) organized by the rank and file anticapitalist trade unions.

Together with them many students, from high school to university, and the whole “people for public school”, protagonist in these months of a big season of struggles in defence of education and common goods.

Big demonstrations in Milano with 50 thousand participants, in Rome with 40 thousand people, in Torino with 30 thousand and in Napoli with 15 thousand people in the streets.

Cobas Cub and Sdl were in strike and in the streets against the budget law, against cuts and privatization in school and University;

– calling for repeal law 113 and law 169 , and for more public spending in raising salaries and pensions ;

– calling for the introduction of a minimum wage for all ;

– calling for an increase of spending in education, health service and social services and against investments for helping banks, speculators and industrialists;

– calling for repeal the laws introducing casual jobs ;

– calling for work safety;

– calling for the defence of the right to strike and for the trade unions rights.

In all our demonstrations we expressed the complete solidarity of workers and students with the popular rebellion in Greece against the brutal homicide of Alexis Grigoropoulos and against the attempt, the same as in Italy, to let needy sectors, and all those who didn’t cause it, pay the crisis.

Piero Bernocchi

Confederazione COBAS