This text acknowledges that the preparation for the November 28 strike
is a work in progress and that in many ways the situation could change.However, we will be monitoring it closely. The starting point is that
this is not a classic strike called by the entirety or part of the
grassroots union movement, but rather an initiative that takes place
within a context that is in many ways new and presents possibilities
that remain to be explored. Indeed, we have behind us the October 3
strike, which saw grassroots unions and the CGIL jointly in calling and
taking to the streets, and, before that, the strike in support of the
population of Gaza on September 22, called by CUB, USB, and other unions.
One new development-not the only or main one, but one that should be
kept in mind-in what happened between September and October is the
dialectic between grassroots unions and the CGIL. In September, in fact,
the CGIL had chosen to go it alone, calling a strike on the 19th. Due to
strike legislation, this was limited to private sector workers. This
resulted in internal tensions and led to an extraordinary and unexpected
mobilization on September 22nd. Having acknowledged the situation, the
CGIL itself agreed to a joint strike on October 3rd, called, in the face
of the Global Sumud Flotilla blockade, by CUB and USB, and by the Cobas
Confederation, which had joined in the meantime-an objective
innovation.[The October 3rd strike was also called by C.I.B. Unicobas -
editor's note]
Obviously, the writer, by the sad privilege of age, is not characterized
by excessive surprise and enthusiasm at the CGIL's leftward shifts. This
is explained, as has happened in the past, by the fact that, faced with
a right-wing government, the CGIL and CISL take opposing positions, with
the CGIL hardening its stance while the CISL bows out, while the UIL
oscillates between the two.
Time will tell whether this shift is contingent or structural; for now,
this is a fact from which to proceed.
But the real news is the extraordinary success of the mobilization, with
hundreds of thousands of people in the streets, a complex and
interesting universe: sectors of workers who, in sectors such as
education, but not only, have gone on strike in large numbers, students,
and citizens. Furthermore, the sympathy surrounding the mobilization was
evident, a sympathy driven by the awareness that Gaza was witnessing a
massacre of civilians, many of them children. This is without forgetting
the fact that the October 3rd strike significantly forced the issue of
anti-strike legislation for the first time in years, a political step
whose significance should not be underestimated.
In this regard, it is worth reading the article "For a Future of the
Pro-Palestine Movement" by Sergio Fontegher Bologna, a scholar of the
labor movement, in "Il Manifesto" of October 20, 2025. The energy
accumulated in the demonstrations for Palestine must translate into a
rethinking of power relations in capitalist countries, and particularly
in Meloni's Italy. Let this be our greatest concern. To achieve better
living and working conditions for young people trapped in the gig
economy, for freelancers, for precarious workers in education and
healthcare, for industrial workers, for slaves in tomato picking or
logistics. Because this, and nothing else, means changing power
relations... If even the President of the Republic has finally decided
to say a word on the wage issue, it means that someone in high places
has understood that the social situation in Italy has reached a critical
point. And if the energies of liberation and revolt unleashed in the
demonstrations for Palestine were to take the right path, things could
change. Seriously. Furthermore, there is another consideration to make.
The situation in Gaza is complex; the drive to support the Palestinian
cause could fragment and divide. The worst of the worst could happen:
that of all this accumulated energy, only remnants remain. focused on
physical opposition. While its great strength was that it was a
peaceful, mass movement. For a movement to be mass, it must be peaceful,
despite its intransigence. This way, it can rely on power relations and
not be reduced to mere testimony."
These notes, in my opinion, capture the problem and the challenge we
face, which we will begin to test with the next strike: "And if the
energies of liberation and revolt unleashed in the demonstrations for
Palestine were to take the right path, things could change. Seriously."
Let's get to the present: as I'm writing this article, news arrives that
the CGIL intends to call a strike on December 12th. It doesn't take a
tremendous amount of political intelligence to understand that they
don't intend to accept a date already proposed, and that the October 3rd
waltz isn't necessarily going to be repeated.
Evidently, important sectors of the CGIL apparatus don't consider a
coalition with grassroots unionism useful, also because the climate,
enthusiasm, and mobilization that existed at the beginning of October
don't seem to hold up today, and many apparatniks evidently believe that
business as usual can be restored. On the other hand, the CGIL's
"unitary" approach was more suited to presenting itself as democratic,
pluralistic, and, indeed, "unitary with the movement at its peak,"
rather than to strengthening relations with trade unions that were
inevitably perceived as competitors and with which day-to-day relations
were not always peaceful.
Let's examine the situation: currently, according to the website of the
Commission for the Guarantee of the Right to Strike, the November 28
strike has been called or joined by ADL Cobas, CLAP, Confederazione
Cobas, CUB, Sbm, Sgb, Si Cobas, SIAL Cobas, USB, and USI 1912.[On
November 7, 2025, the strike was also called by Unicobas and on November
9, 2025 by USI CIT - editor's note.]
On November 5, the Cobas Scuola unions published an appeal to seek an
agreement on the date between the grassroots unions and the CGIL and to
withdraw both calls in favor of a new, joint strike. This appeal, I say
without underestimating the merits, is consistent with their historical
positions based on the tireless pursuit of a relationship with the CGIL.
In reality, this proposal is not easy to implement, and the Cobas seems
more focused on gaining the role of "unifier." There are also widely
shared appeals circulating, but they point to clear difficulties among
CGIL and grassroots union members for a unified solution and,
specifically, for sticking to the 28th. In any case, in the coming days,
the situation regarding the strike date and the back-and-forth between
grassroots unions and CGIL will receive some clarification. However, it
is now worth focusing on the strike platform based on the original
documents.
I'm using, but it's not the only one in circulation, excerpts from a CUB
document from October 23rd, which, in my opinion, has the merit of being
concise...
"GENERAL STRIKE OF NOVEMBER 28TH: MOBILIZATION IN THE SERVICE OF WORKERS
AND MOVEMENTS
There are many reasons for another GENERAL STRIKE, continuing the
mobilizations of recent weeks and the proclamations of September 22nd
and October 3rd. FOR PALESTINE AND THE PALESTINIANS
As the "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People" on
November 29th approaches, a date on which numerous demonstrations will
be held throughout Europe, everyone now knows that there is no peace
agreement in Palestine, only a truce, ignored by Israel, which continues
to massacre Palestinian civilians... As if that weren't enough, Israel,
with Trump's endorsement, pursuing the unacceptable design of Greater
Israel, has resumed bombing in Lebanon.
AGAINST THE WAR AND THE WAR ECONOMY
The winds of war are blowing ever stronger, not only in the Middle East
but also in Europe, well beyond the borders of Ukraine and around the
world... The war economy is making the material conditions of the masses
and workers in Italy extremely critical, struggling with cuts to welfare
and public services.
FOR WORKERS' WAGES AND RIGHTS, HEALTHCARE, EDUCATION, AND TRANSPORT
The 2026 Budget Law does not provide any serious measures to concretely
increase workers' wages in Italy, while the retirement age is being
raised and the lowest pensions remain stuck in poverty. The rising cost
of living is a scourge plaguing the economy of millions of people in
Italy, now grappling with a steady slide into deep poverty. Meanwhile,
while Meloni & Co. plan to spend up to 5% of GDP on military spending
(EUR22 billion over three years!), nothing is being done. To ensure an
adequate and efficient public and universal health service, the desired
redevelopment of schools and universities is not being planned, nor is a
plan for a concrete restructuring of the public transport service being
launched, such as to improve mobility in large cities and connections to
and from Italy.
Nothing even regarding intervention to safeguard workplace safety, while
the drip-feed of workplace deaths and accidents continues unabated.
FOR THE REVIVAL OF A PUBLIC HOUSING PLAN
The lack of a public housing plan is now a scourge that not even the
Meloni government wants to resolve, while high rents are becoming a
problem unparalleled in Italy's recent history.
AGAINST THE EXPLOITATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT THAT HYPOTHECATES THE FUTURE
Not to mention the lack of real interventions for an environmental
protection and remediation project capable of guaranteeing adequate
livability for future generations in cities and beyond.
It is important to emphasize that the CUB has called a general strike
for November 28, 2025, identifying a date on which all categories of
workers, including those in essential services, can abstain from work,
avoiding the liberticidal intervention of the Guarantee Commission. The
CUB confirms its willingness to make the proclamation available to other
trade unions. And to evaluate any rescheduling that we will collectively
decide on."
It is now clear that there is continuity between the next strike and
those of September 22nd and October 3rd regarding the mobilization
regarding what is happening in Gaza and, at the same time, an
accentuation of the importance given to the internal front and the
conflict between capital and labor. This is precisely the key point that
we will have to verify on the ground.
Without underestimating the positive mobilizations of students and civil
society, it is precisely on the relevance and radicality of the workers'
mobilization that the game is played.
Cosimo Scarinzi
https://umanitanova.org/sciopero-generale-del-28-novembre-prospettive-e-problemi/
_________________________________________
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