The Militant - November 10, 2003 -- Workers in Italy strike against government plan to raise retirement age

Vol. 67/No. 39 November 10, 2003

Workers in Italy strike against
government plan to raise retirement age

BY SAM MANUEL
A four-hour strike against the Italian government’s proposal to raise the retirement age paralyzed much of the country October 24. “If the government doesn’t change its course… they can expect us to continue our protests,” said Guglielmo Epifani, a leader of the CGIL—the largest of the three unions organizing the strike—at a march in Bologna.

Demonstrations and rallies of thousands took place in over a hundred piazzas throughout the country. “We should look in general at the life of a human being, which cannot be considered only in terms of work,” said Amicio Antonucci, 54, one of the protesters at Piazza Navona in Rome.

Most media reports said hundreds of thousands participated in the strike. Union leaders estimated participation at 1.5 million.

Alitalia cancelled more than 150 flights and announced it expected another 124 would be delayed or rerouted. Much of the rail system lay idle. Schoolchildren across the country stayed home as teachers joined the strike and hospitals announced they could only guarantee staff for emergency services. The automaker Fiat scaled back production in the face of the strike. Italy’s last general strike took place in April last year against government proposed changes in the labor law.

The first government of Italian president Silvio Berlusconi split apart and collapsed just seven months after taking office in 1994 when it attempted to “reform” the pension system.

Currently many Italians can retire with full benefits before they turn 60. If they are 57 years old or younger they can retire after working for 37 years. If they are older than 57 they can retire after 35 years of service. The government’s proposal would increase the retirement age to 65 for men and 60 for women, and require 40 years of work for pension eligibility.

As in France, Germany, and other European countries, Rome is attempting to justify this assault on working people in Italy by claiming that workers are living too long and that the worldwide economic crisis dictates such cuts. If approved by parliament, the measure would go into effect in 2008. Big-business executives have said that the plan does not go far enough.

The government has also argued that Italy’s declining population has lowered revenue for the pension system. Bianca Pomeranzi, who participated in the strike, said the government could raise population levels by allowing more immigration into the country. But the Berlusconi government has tightened restrictions on immigration. In March 2002 some 50 immigrants from Somalia drowned off the coast of Sicily while an Italian naval ship offered no assistance.

Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home