Workers’ Protests in Italy

By Gavin Jones, Alberto Chiumento, and Angelo Amante

ROME (Reuters) – After three decades of wage stagnation, workers in Italy have many issues to protest about; however, strikes over pay are rare and seldom last more than a day. This has raised questions about the effectiveness of Italy’s trade unions.

Italy is unique among advanced countries in that inflation-adjusted wages declined from 1990 to 2020, as per the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. This decline has contributed to weak consumer spending and anemic economic growth.

Although pay has increased recently, rising by 9% between the third quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of last year, it still lags behind inflation and wage growth in countries like Germany and France.

Several economic factors contribute to this issue, including Italy’s low employment rate of 67%, which is the lowest in the euro zone, leaving workers with little bargaining power. However, many labour experts state that trade unions also have a significant role to play in this stagnation.

“Trade unions in Italy have mutated to become mainly service providers,” said Filippo Barbera, a sociology professor at Turin University. “They help you do your tax returns and calculate what your pension will be, but they won’t take on employers to secure salary raises.”

Following a national strike on November 29 against cuts to government spending on social security and public services, Maurizio Landini, the head of the CGIL union, promised to “turn the country upside down.” The protest disrupted schools, public transport, and hospitals but lasted only one day and achieved no tangible results.

The CGIL has initiated a national referendum to vote on repealing labor reforms that made it easier to fire workers and promoted temporary contracts. The date for this vote is yet to be set.

Although union membership is relatively high in Italy, analysts point out that strikes are often more focused and effective in countries like Germany and France, despite them having lower union membership rates.

For instance, U.S. Boeing workers secured a 38% pay rise after a seven-week strike, while workers at Volkswagen had successful rolling strikes against layoffs. In contrast, Italian unions’ actions often yield limited results.

In Italy, nearly half of the CGIL’s members are pensioners, whose interests dominate the union’s lobbying efforts. Many workers, especially the low-paid, cannot afford to go on strike due to lost wages, as unions do not provide meaningful strike funds.

Consequently, most Italian strikes are brief and defensive, aimed at protecting jobs rather than achieving pay raises. In Germany, effective negotiations and structured strike procedures allow unions to pursue their goals more vigorously.

Italy faces ongoing delays in renewing national wage contracts, with many having expired. “To improve conditions, we need more strikes, not fewer,” emphasized economics professor Emiliano Brancaccio from Naples University.