December 12, 2025, CGIL marches against the 2026 Budget: Italy comes to a halt for a general strike.

From factories to schools, from hospitals to transportation. Friday, December 12, 2025, is a day of intense social mobilization, with the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) calling a 24-hour general strike against the 2026 budget, which General Secretary Maurizio Landini called "unfair" and "foolish." The protest involves all sectors, public and private, with the sole exception of air transport—already affected by a strike called for December 17—and ATAC (Italian National Automobile Association) staff in Rome, who had previously walked out a few days earlier.

The stated objective is clear: to secure wage and pension increases, halt the increase in the retirement age, combat widespread job insecurity, implement progressive tax reform, and increase investment in healthcare, education, industrial policies, and the service sector. This platform, which the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) defines as "social" rather than "identity-based" or "political," inevitably clashes with the Meloni government's decisions regarding the budget law.

The protest map: marches from North to South, Landini in Florence

Demonstrations spread across the entire peninsula, transforming the strike into a day of squares and marches. Landini's chosen "symbolic square" was Florence: the general secretary led the march, which departed at 9 a.m. from Piazza Santa Maria Novella and headed to Piazza del Carmine, where he held his closing speech. The choice of the Tuscan capital was both political and symbolic: a city with a strong union tradition and a productive fabric intertwined with industry, services, and public sector.

In Genoa, the mobilization begins at the Maritime Station, with a long procession through the city center to the Prefecture in Largo Lanfranco, where national leader Giuseppe Gesmundo will speak. In Ferrara, the rally is scheduled for Piazzale Medaglie d'Oro, with a procession and closing rally in the city center. In Naples, the rally will take place in Piazza del Gesù at 9:00 a.m., concluding in Piazza Municipio with a speech by confederate secretary Luigi Giove.

The mobilizations spread across a wide range of locations: in Cagliari, the demonstration opened in Piazza del Carmine; in Bari, the meeting point was Piazza Massari, with a final rally in Piazza Libertà; in Ancona, the march began in Piazza del Crocifisso and ended in Piazza del Papa. In Brescia, the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) gathered at the San Faustino metro station, arriving in Piazza Paolo VI, while in Rome, the demonstration began at 9:00 a.m. from Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II and concluded along Via dei Fori Imperiali. Meanwhile, squares and initiatives multiplied in Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Campania, Sicily, and Sardinia, with regional and local marches reaffirming the same national demands, applying them locally.

Transport under pressure: trains, buses, and the metro on strike day

The most visible front for residents and commuters is transportation. In the railway sector, the strike affects all FS Italiane Group staff, from 12:01 AM to 9:00 PM today. Long-distance trains are guaranteed, according to agreements with the companies (Trenitalia, Italo, NTV), while for regional transport operated by Trenitalia, Trenitalia Tper, and Trenord, essential services are guaranteed between 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM. The companies remind that cancellations and delays may occur even before and after the official strike times, with knock-on effects on traffic.

Local public transport experiences a very different situation from city to city, in compliance with the guarantee bands. MilanoATM announces the closure of the M3 metro line after 8:45 a.m., reopening in the afternoon, after 3 p.m., while the M1, M2, M4, and M5 lines remain in operation. On the surface, many bus and tram lines are being diverted to allow the procession that started from Porta Genova to pass. The stations of Milano Centrale, Porta Garibaldi, and Rogoredo are experiencing cancellations and delays, especially on regional trains.

In Turin, Gruppo Torino Trasporto operates urban-suburban services and the metro between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., while suburban services and the Ciriè–Ceres cooperative line operate from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. In Venice, ACTV operates basic navigation services and some ferry services, while buses and trams operate in the morning from 6:00 a.m. to 8:59 a.m. and in the afternoon from 4:30 p.m. to 7:29 p.m.

Florence is experiencing a double day of protests, in the streets and on the tracks. The tram is covered by guaranteed service slots between 6:30 am and 9:30 am and between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm, while Autolinee Toscane buses are guaranteed in the very early morning, between 4:15 am and 8:14 am, and at midday between 12:30 pm and 2:29 pm.

In Naples, in the early morning, the city withstood the impact of the strike without significant disruption to commuters. Some regional trains arriving and departing from the central station were canceled, but the Metro Line 2 operated by Trenitalia operated with sporadic delays. EAV trains remained operational, although some trains scheduled after 10:00 a.m. from Naples Piazza Garibaldi were canceled. Later, service on Metro Line 1 and the Montesanto and Mergellina funiculars were suspended, while Line 6 and the Chiaia funicular remained operational; the Central Funicular was closed for safety checks.

Ports, taxis, highways, logistics: strikes in strategic sectors

The mobilization also extends to the infrastructure and logistics sectors. In ports, workers are standing down for an entire day, ensuring only the bare minimum services related to the safety of operations and the essential needs of island communities. In maritime transport, ships are experiencing 24-hour delays in departures on connections to the major islands, excluding routes considered essential. With the smaller islands, the strike is in effect from 00.01:24 AM to midnight, with exemptions for essential connections.

Port towing, mooring, boating, and piloting services will also be suspended from 00.01:24 AM to midnight, with the guarantee of minimum services compatible with safety at sea and in port. Taxis are on a 24-hour strike, spread across shifts, while continuing to provide basic services, particularly medical and emergency services.

Highway and ANAS traffic workers are on strike all day, ensuring the safety of road traffic. In freight transport and logistics, the 24-hour strike involves warehouses, transporters, couriers, and porters, but essential flows of essential goods are maintained. Railway contractors, from cleaning trains, stations, and offices to catering and night train escorts, are also on strike. Drivers and self-drive car rental operators, car rental companies, roadside assistance, parking management, multi-storey car parks, and school bus services are also on strike. For the latter, the strike only concerns school return services.

Schools, healthcare, and public administration: essential services remain active.

A significant segment of the protests concerns public sector organizations, from schools to hospitals, including ministries, local authorities, and local services. In schools, the participation of teaching and non-teaching staff can lead to class suspensions, reduced hours, partial school closures, and reduced cafeteria and after-school care services. The situation varies from city to city: in some cities, total closures are occurring, while in others, schools remain open, but with reduced or combined teaching activities.

In hospitals and healthcare in general, the rules set forth in Law 146/1990 on strikes in essential public services apply: emergencies, emergency departments, life-saving services, and essential care remain fully guaranteed, while deferrable services, scheduled visits, and some administrative activities may be postponed or delayed.

The strike also affects other public administration departments, citizen services, and central and local governments. The fire department is on strike for four hours. However, Ministry of Justice and environmental sanitation personnel are exempt from the strike to avoid impacting waste collection and sanitation in cities.

The economic and social motivations: wages, pensions and taxes at the centre

Behind the day of protests lies not only a rejection of the Budget, but a genuine alternative economic and social policy framework. The CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) denounces stagnant wages, increasing job insecurity, and a tax and social security burden that weighs heavily on employees and pensioners, while—in the union's view—the Budget continues to reward amnesties and measures favorable to high incomes and pensioners.

Landini reiterates the call for a repeal of the so-called "fiscal drag," the tax burden that effectively cancels out nominal wage and pension increases. The union proposes a tax reform that strengthens progressivity, introducing a more impactful taxation on large fortunes and opposing the idea of ​​a generalized flat tax.

A key aspect of the platform is the proposal for a 1,3% solidarity tax on the assets of 500 people with annual incomes of €2 million or more. According to CGIL calculations, such a measure would generate approximately €26 billion annually, to be used for wage increases, contract renewals, strengthening welfare, and investments in healthcare, education, industrial policies, and Southern Italy. In effect, a tax on large fortunes, presented as a necessary condition for rebalancing a tax system deemed unfair.

Pensions, precarious employment, healthcare and education: other demands

The general strike also aims to mark a clear break with the pension system. The CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) is demanding the overturning of the Fornero law, a halt to the increase in the retirement age—which, according to Landini's criticism, risks being pushed to 70 for some workers—and the introduction of a "safeguard pension" for young people and those with precarious employment, to prevent entire generations from reaching old age without a decent pension.

The union is calling for more resources for public and private contract renewals, the extension of tax breaks on wage increases to all workers, not just certain sectors, and a special hiring plan in public administrations to reverse the chronic understaffing. To combat precarious employment, the CGIL is calling for measures to discourage the abuse of fixed-term contracts and atypical forms of employment, more effective action against "non-genuine" contracts and cascading subcontracting, and a strengthening of workplace health and safety measures.

Healthcare and education are identified as two key areas of the dispute. The union denounces cuts and underfunding, increasingly long waiting lists, and a progressive decline in public services in favor of private ones. In education, the protests focus on both the conditions of staff and the risk of further widening educational inequalities, especially in the most vulnerable areas of the country.

Divisions within the union front: CGIL alone, UIL and CISL on different dates

Today's strike marks the fourth consecutive strike against the Meloni government's budget, but for the first time the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) is taking to the streets alone. The UIL (Italian Labour Union), which had supported the previous days of mobilization, has chosen this time to focus its efforts on the national demonstration on November 29th. The CISL (Italian Labour Union), for its part, has decided not to call general strikes, opting instead for a large demonstration on December 13th to demand improvements to the budget law and build a "new social pact," defined as "one of responsibility" and geared toward a reformist engagement with the government.

Despite the divisions, the CGIL appears confident in the workers' response. Landini and the confederation leaders emphasized participation in workplace assemblies and predicted "very crowded streets," convinced that the platform—focused on wages, pensions, taxes, welfare, and peace—captures a widespread social demand that goes beyond the organization's traditional boundaries. In the words of Fiom secretary Michele De Palma, who was involved in the march, Milano, "we are also striking for those workers and unions who are not striking today", in the name of the dignity of work and the need to sit down with the government to truly discuss the budget.

A strike in a difficult economic climate: what are the scenarios after December 12th?

December 12th is not just a protest, but also a political and social test. For the CGIL, measuring strike participation and demonstration attendance means assessing its capacity for representation at a time when the labor market is fragmented by diverse contracts, precarious employment, low-wage self-employment, and delocalization.

For the government, the signal coming from the streets will weigh heavily on the parliamentary debate on the budget and on public opinion. A large-scale protest could fuel pressure to amend certain sections of the budget law, particularly those concerning taxes, pensions, healthcare, and public contracts. A more modest demonstration could strengthen the government's stance, which has so far chosen to downplay the strike's impact, insisting on the need to ensure continuity of essential services.

In any case, today's general strike marks a significant step forward in the negotiations between the government and the unions. Whether and to what extent the CGIL's demands will be reflected in the budget will also depend on the coming weeks of political discussion.