Strike to affect public and private sector in Italy.
A national general strike scheduled in Italy on Monday 9 March is set to cause disruption to the country’s education and healthcare services as well as public offices.
The 24-hour strike, which comes the day after International Women’s Day, has been called by several trade unions to protest over violence and discrimination against women and to support women’s rights in the workplace and in society.
The strike action, backed by the Slai-Cobas, USI, USB and Clap trade unions, will impact both public and private sectors and could cause disruption to schools, healthcare and public administration.
The USI and USB unions have stated that the transport sector is not included in their strike plans however Slai-Cobas has called a 24-hour general strike for the transportation sector as well.
This may result in some disruption to the transport sector, and is likely to vary across Italy. Minimum services will still be guaranteed, in compliance with regulations, and will be communicated on the individual transport companies’ websites.
A 24-hour national strike has been called by the Flc-CGIL union for Monday involving schools, universities, research institutions and vocational training organisations.
Schools may be suspended and education offices closed in Italy however the level of disruption will depend on staff participation, with parents and students advised to check directly with their schools.
“We intend to reaffirm women’s rights, starting with the right to self-determination and gender equality, in the face of the evident resurgence of a chauvinistic, misogynistic and patriarchal culture, which translates into frequent incidents of violence and discrimination against women,” Flc CGIL stated.
The union also took aim at the government which “continues to deny sexual and emotional education in schools” despite the “dizzying increase in cases of abuse and violence, which increasingly involve young men and women as both victims and aggressors”.
Monday’s strike could affect the opening of public offices as well as catering and cleaning services in kindergartens, schools, hospitals and health facilities, although emergency healthcare will be guaranteed.
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