Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
PALERMO – Social tension and union protest in Palermo. A demonstration organised by the Cgil took place today, 3 November, outside the institutional headquarters of Palazzo Palagonia to demand the opening of a round-table discussion on the cost of living and the wage emergency. The sit-in, which saw the participation of all union categories, was called after the mayor failed to respond to a formal request for a meeting sent by the union in recent days.
The demonstration gave voice to the concerns of workers, pensioners, the unemployed, students and productive sectors such as farmers, fishermen and hauliers, all hit by inflationary price rises.
The secretary Ridulfo’s attack: “The mayor prefers photos to people’s needs”
The general secretary of Cgil Palermo, Mario Ridulfo, expressed strong displeasure with the attitude of the municipal institutions, while also criticising the management of the inauguration of the two new stations on the city’s ring railway:
“The mayor prefers yet another photo opportunity at an inauguration—where, what is more, workers and unions were not even invited—rather than listen to people’s needs and the union’s proposals. The fact that he has not even found a moment to say a word on the issue most keenly felt by citizens, that of the cost of living, worries us greatly. Those in government, at every level, clearly have full stomachs and cannot understand those who today cannot make it to the end of the month or live on precarious work. This building, unfortunately, is deaf to people’s needs, and we have not even found a member of the municipal executive willing to listen to the Cgil: it is a disrespectful act towards the people of Palermo.”
— Mario Ridulfo, General Secretary, Cgil Palermo
During the demonstration, it was also recalled that in June 2013 the Cgil staged a fake inauguration in Piazza Politeama with actors in tricolour sashes to denounce the chronic delays in the ring railway construction sites, condemning the absence of the companies that built the work at the official ribbon-cutting.
Platform submitted and push towards general strike
During the protest, union representatives submitted their claims platform to the offices of Palazzo Palagonia, containing specific proposals to tackle the cost of living at a local level and support the lowest incomes.
Today’s initiative is part of the mobilisation campaign leading to the general strike on 20 November, following the demonstrations that saw thousands take to the streets in Palermo on 14 October and in Rome on 17 October.
