USB called a general strike on 17 November 2023, with the aim of tackling the real problems that afflict the Public Administration, first and foremost the failure to renew contracts and the stabilisation of precarious workers, and in response to the communication campaign promoted by the Minister for Public Administration, who has emphasised how “cool” it is to work in the P.A.
In our opinion, this is an image campaign that precisely that material issue of contracts and salaries wants to hide.
The public administration has been under attack for some time, at the centre of a series of choices that, through a constant campaign of denigration of public employees, threaten the sustainability of the services provided and with it the social function of the state.
Lowest wages in Europe and rising inflation: currently, Italian public workers receive wages that are significantly lower than in other European countries, and while inflation has skyrocketed in the last two years, wages have fallen by 7%. In this context, with a contract that expired two years ago, the government prefers to tip workers rather than discuss contract renewal with real wage increases.
Widespread precariousness: the Italian public administration has an army of precarious workers, 100,000 in the central functions who work on temporary contracts and 50,000 who are eligible but not yet recruited. Another 100,000 in a strategic sector such as health. In schools, there are about 250,000 precarious workers every year who face paid training and receive some of the lowest salaries in Europe.
Unsustainable workloads and staff shortages: Staff shortages are widespread and affect all sectors of the public administration, with our country at the bottom of the list in Europe in the ratio of civil servants to citizens. For example, in Italian healthcare facilities this is evident, with a shortage of 250,000 nurses. This has led to unsustainable workloads for health workers, putting the quality of health care at risk. And there is no trace of funding for healthcare in the current manoeuvre.
Absent protections for fragile workers: Thousands of fragile workers in the public administration are currently deprived of the necessary protections to guarantee their safety and health in the workplace.
USB has pledged to respond to these policies with a general strike on 17 November 2023. The aim of the strike is to draw attention to the general plan to dismantle the Pa and to demand concrete measures from the government to tackle it.
USB calls for salary increases of EUR 300 net per month in the pay packet, the stabilisation of precarious workers and the hiring of 1 million permanent workers.
USB calls a demonstration in Rome the day on the strike
