Naples – A general strike and protests against the government's budget plan took place in the city. On Friday, December 12, the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) announced a full-day work stoppage, with demonstrations nationwide. In Campania, the mobilization will center in Naples, with a regional demonstration bringing workers, retirees, students, associations, and movements to the streets.
The march will depart at 9:00 a.m. from Piazza del Gesù and reach Piazza Municipio, where the closing rally is scheduled. Speaking from the stage will be delegates from workplaces, representatives of trade unions and social groups, the general secretary of the CGIL Naples and Campania, Nicola Ricci, and the national secretary of the CGIL, Luigi Giove, who will deliver the conclusions of the day of protest.
At the heart of the union platform are taxes, wages, pensions, and a rejection of the rearmament economy. The CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) is challenging a measure deemed inadequate to address the cost of living and inequality, and is demanding redistributive policies that benefit workers and pensioners. The strike will affect both the public and private sectors: local public transportation will be shut down from the early hours of Thursday the 11th to Friday the 12th until 9:00 PM, while firefighters will be on standby for four hours. Essential services will remain operational.
"Campania," Ricci emphasizes, "is among the Italian regions where private-sector employees earn the lowest average gross annual wage compared to the national average, despite a significant fiscal drag, as evidenced by the recent wage survey presented by the national CGIL."
The numbers, the union representative explains, reveal a clear penalty: "In the two-year period 2022-2024, the tax burden amounted to €2.257, compared to a salary increase of €1.680 over the two years, compared to the national average of €2.181. This translates into approximately €500 less per year in the paycheck for workers in Campania."
For the union, the answer must involve a shift in fiscal policy. "We demand the restitution of these taxes to increase wages and pensions," Ricci states, "and we are relaunching the proposal to tax assets exceeding two million euros at 1,3 percent, to support 99 percent of Italian workers and pensioners."
This approach, according to the CGIL, aims to target the wealthy to ease the pressure on incomes from work and pensions, especially in the country's weakest areas, such as Southern Italy.
The union intends Friday's strike to be not only a day of protest but also a testbed to gauge consensus around a different approach to economic and social policy, in a region where low wages, poor employment, and high taxes weigh particularly heavily on families.
Verified Source
Choose the social channel you want to subscribe to