“No ships carrying weapons or war material destined for the Gulf will sail
from the Italian ports,” says Guido Abbadessa, Filt-Cgil general secretary,
the biggest transport union in Italy.
Italy's three main trade union confederations have decided to call a general
strike the day the war breaks out in a show of opposition to a US-led war on
Iraq.
The Italian working class is now facing a crossroads. Since the year 2001 Italy has witnessed an uninterrupted series of mass mobilisations, probably the biggest ever in Italian history. But no mass movement can continue indefinitely forever if it does not achieve at least some results. This is the problem which is now facing the Italian working class and in particular its vanguard.
After two years of uninterrupted mass mobilisations, the political landscape in Italy is now changing. Since 2001 we have witnessed a whole series of struggles, including two 24hour general strikes and two multi-million demonstrations in Rome. The main point on the agenda now is not the next demonstration, but the necessary evaluation of the recent events, of the experience the masses have been through.
On Friday October 24, about ten million workers took part in a 4-hour
general strike called by the trade unions against Berlusconi’s proposed
counter-reform of the pension system. 1.5 million people workers
participated in over 100 demonstrations throughout the whole of Italy.
The strike was particularly successful in the public sector, in
education, public transport, and the railways. It indicates that within
a short space of time we will be facing a new and maybe decisive
turning point in the class struggle in Italy.