Italy is preparing for a nationwide general strike Friday December 12, 2025, called by the country’s largest trade union, the CGIL. Members of IUF affiliates Flai-CGIL and Filcams-CGIL will take part in the strike.

The core grievance is opposition to the Government’s 2026 budget plan, which trade union leaders argue is “unjust and damaging” for workers, young people, pensioners and public services. According to CGIL, the budget fails to address structural economic challenges such as low wages, precarious jobs, weak public services, and stagnant purchasing power. Also, the measures do not sufficiently support workers or those most affected by inflation and economic insecurity. The unions demand more substantial commitments to labour rights, wage increases and stronger social protections.

Although the focus is on the budget, the protest reflects broader social unease:

• Precarious employment and no job security.
• Inadequate wage growth relative to inflation.
• Underfunding of public services such as health, education and transport.

These issues have been a theme in recent strikes and union actions throughout 2025, as workers and activists push for more equitable economic policies.

“We are faced with a budget law that is steering our country towards a war economy, without paying the slightest attention to the lives of citizens who have to work to make a living, without looking at inflation, which is eroding their spending power. The budget does nothing for workers in the agri-food sector, for those who bring fruit and vegetables to our tables every day, just as it does nothing to stem the polarization of wealth into the hands of a few,” said Giovanni Minnini, General Secretary of Flai CGIL. “This is a strike to support the 38 million Italians who are paying for austerity.”

"We are faced with a budget law that is steering our country towards a war economy, without paying the slightest attention to the lives of citizens who have to work to make a living, without looking at inflation, which is eroding their spending power."