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15 April, 2002
The colour of a government does not necessarily mean that the unions have to fight harder to defend their members. But when a government, regardless of its political inclination, tries to take away fundamental rights which have been recognised and introduced into labour legislation, after decades of hard struggle, there can only be a fight.
Ever since Silvio Berlusconi took over the responsibility of governing Italy, which is one of the largest economies in the world, he has been attacking the trade unions.
Berlusconi's first government fell after only 8 months, in December 1994, when he tried to change the pension system for workers. The reaction of the unions was strong, and they brought more than one million people onto the streets of Rome in protest.
This time, the government is trying to deny workers their right to be reinstated in their jobs following unjustified dismissals. The fight is about Article 18 of the Labour Law (statuto dei lavoratori). The Italian government, apart from being misinformed about the legislation in other European countries, is also bluntly lying. But lies are not unusual for Berlusconi and his government. They claim that abolishing Article 18 means bringing Italian legislation in line with the rest of Europe.
Nothing could be more wrong. Berlusconi should ask his Minister of Labour to have a closer look at Article 30 of the Charter of Rights adopted by the European Union in Nice just a year and a half ago.
In most countries, if a court finds a worker has been dismissed for unjustified reasons, the court itself can decide to reinstate him/her without any interruption of the employment. This means that one keeps all the benefits he/she has so far acquired.
Why is this so important?
Because a worker who loses his/her job should not just receive financial compensation. If you lose your job because of discrimination for say political, religious or ethnic reasons, or because the employer just wanted you out, then the employer should not just buy his way out.
One cannot buy human dignity, even if his name is Berlusconi.
The three Italian trade union centres - the CGIL, CISL and UIL - have together declared a general strike for April 16. It goes without saying that the global unions should massively support the Italians in their struggle for the defense of workers' rights.
Their struggle is ours.
Viva i lavoratori italiani.