Naples: Cemetery gravediggers haven't been paid for months, with 50 workers on strike for three days.

They've been working without pay for months, and now they've decided to stop. This is the protest of approximately 50 gravediggers employed in Neapolitan cemeteries through two cooperatives, who are reporting their wages have been unpaid since before the summer.

Arrears, according to reports from workers and the CISL Civil Service, range from two to ten months. Paychecks fluctuate between €700 and €1.200, but for many workers, the problem isn't just financial: despite the lack of pay, services have continued to be provided for months.

The protest is led by the CISL Civil Service Union, with Agostino Anselmi at the workers' side. A permanent assembly has been called for three consecutive days in front of the municipal cemetery office on Via Santa Maria del Pianto. The protest is scheduled to end tomorrow, September 30th, but without a solution, it could continue.

"We apologize to the people of Naples, we respect the mourning and the pain that engulfs families in these moments. But without wages, workers cannot continue, and this form of protest is the only way to raise their consciences," Anselmi declared.

According to the CISL, the Municipality of Naples had duly paid the cooperatives the fees due for managing the service. The problem, therefore, is linked to the companies' failure to pay their employees.

Meanwhile, the municipal administration is reportedly seeking a solution to directly impact workers, including through advance payments, and then recourse against the cooperatives.

"This is a very serious situation because the City of Naples pays the cooperatives on time," Anselmi explained. "The gravediggers in Naples are not employees of the city, but of the cooperatives, and we thank the City, Mayor Manfredi, the director, and the councilor for having already taken charge of covering the payments."

For the union, however, emergency intervention isn't enough. They're demanding a fundamental overhaul of the service's management model, bringing it under the control of a company owned by the administration.

"We made a proposal, we brought to the mayor's attention the fact that the entire service, not just the workers, be brought in-house by a subsidiary," Anselmi said. "It's such a sensitive service that it can't be outsourced to cooperatives, so it must be incorporated into the mechanisms of the public body."

CISL's proposal is to transfer the service to Napoli Servizi. "We are asking for a way to transfer this service to Napoli Servizi. Indeed, today, September 29, 2026, a city council meeting is holding a resolution expanding Napoli Servizi's functions," Anselmi added.

Meanwhile, workers remain in a permanent meeting, awaiting a concrete response regarding the payment of arrears and the future of the service. This dispute affects not only the economic conditions of dozens of employees, but also the management of a business essential to the city.