After European governments have squandered hundred billions euros to rescue banks and finance empires, now, starting from Greece, they would like to impose the payment of the crisis on the victims of it and not on those who have caused it. In Italy the government is making people pay for the crisis with millions of dismissals and redundancies, a huge increase of casualizations at work, the “slaughtering” of State School with a further loss 41.000 work places, while tax evasion and corruption are massive.

In the whole Public Sector contracts will be blocked for 3 years and about 4 million employees will undergo a salary cut between 1500-1800 euros in 3 years. In State School there will be an additional blocking of “scatti di anzianità” (automatic seniority increases) which added to the previous ones, will cause an average “wage thieving “ of about 6000 euros. Old-age pensions will be postponed for one year, women retirement age at 65 will be brought forward to 2016 and workers will not receive the retirement pay-off at the time they stop working but it will be spread out in 3 years. Expenses for casual workers in Public Sectors will be halved and the enormous cut of funding to Municipality, Province and Region will mean either more taxes or a dramatic reduction of social services.

We reject the blocking of Public Sectors contracts and of automatic pay raise in State Schools, the aggression on social expenditure, public sector workers, casual workers, the massacre of State School; we are for the employment of casual workers on regular basis, the protection of retired and unemployed people, a serious taxation of unearned incomes, finance transactions, big capitals, high incomes and wages, the cancellation of “Collegato Lavoro”, the restitution of union rights to COBAS and rank and file unions.

Our answer must be up to the attack against our living and working conditions. That is why we have promoted 10 days of demonstrations and strikes, coordinated with various unions, social and political structures and in alliance with Greek and European workers struggling against the crisis.

5 June: National Demonstration in Rome (P. della Repubblica ore 15) called by COBAS and USB;

7-8 June, 2 full day State School strike called by COBAS in the following regions: Emilia Romagna, Calabria and the province of Trento; 10-11 June in Marche, Puglia, Veneto; 11-12 June in Sardegna e Umbria; 14-15 June in all the remaining regions and the province of Bolzano;

11 June, National Strike of Urban Public Transport called by COBAS, SLAI e USB;

14 June, National Strike of Public Sector called by COBAS and USB.

Piero Bernocchi

national spokesman of COBAS