Italy faces national transport strikes

Italy has been hit by a series of unofficial transport strikes, which have brought chaos to several Italian cities and undermined the position of the main Italian union confederations.

The strikes, by workers in the local buses, trams and metro systems, came almost immediately after a wage settlement signed on 20 December 2003. This provided an average increase of €81 per month (about £56) and a one-off payment of €970 (£680) to make up for the fact that the settlement had been delayed for two years.

However, this was clearly insufficient for many of the workers involved and last month they started on a series of strikes of a day and longer.

The strikes, which paralysed the transport systems in Milan, Bologna, Turin, Genoa and elsewhere, were supported by the rank and file organisation, the Cobas.

However, they were opposed by the main confederations, CGIL, CISL and UIL, which signed the agreement.

They have been attempting to regain control of the situation and seem to have succeeded in Milan, where a new agreement increasing pay by €250 a month, about £175, was signed in January.

However, the Cobas have said that they are looking for a national settlement, and a major country-wide strike was in preparation as Labour Research went to press.