On Saturday October 16, thousands of workers including many IUF affiliates took to the streets across a number of European cities to defend democracy and the values of the Italian Constitution after the October 9 fascist attack on the CGIL headquarters, one of Italy’s three trade union confederations. The IUF sent letters of solidarity to IUF affiliates of CGIL and joined the protest in Geneva.
Under the pretext of protesting against the government’s health measures, a group of extreme right-wing thugs broke into the union offices and destroyed them, a chilling reminder of 100 years ago in Italy when the newly founded fascist party began its assaults on union halls and shortly thereafter took power. The demonstration was organized by the three confederations, CGIL, CISL and UIL, in order to reaffirm the values of democracy and to defend the Italian Constitution born after the defeat of fascism. In his speech at the demonstration, Maurizio Landini, General Secretary of the CGIL called for:
- A ban on fascist organizations by the Italian Government
- A new, more inclusive social model which values secure jobs over precarious jobs
- An end to femicide and justice for Giulio Regeni, the young university researcher who was barbarously killed in Egypt in 2016
“Culture, decent work and the future: this is how to combat the darkness that lurks within fascism,” stated Maurizio Landini, CGIL General Secretary.
