250 million participate in the largest strike in history. In Italy no one told you … maybe you could wake up
The largest strike in history was held in India last Thursday. The date was significant and not accidental: it was the Constitution Day, the anniversary of the approval of the first Indian constitution in 1948. The strike was truly mass and the unions managed to involve very large sections of society: from workers to small direct farmers to large sections of civil society.
The demonstration targeted the Modi government and the demands were linked to some controversial decisions of its BJP-backed government. Unions want the application of a 12-point document that includes the withdrawal of a series of laws recently passed by the Modi government to protect wages and prices for micro agricultural enterprises, the reversal of recent exit policies industry, the implementation of existing welfare programs for rural workers and the expansion of social policies to help the masses affected by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizing this huge demonstration was a coordination that brought together on the one hand the ten largest workers' organizations, on the other hand a coordination of 200 associations of direct farmers, as well as groups of students and other minorities. The organizers have stated that their struggle will not end with this event, but will continue in the future with new strikes until the objectives are reached. The Modi government is the expression of a mix of interests of the upper middle class, made up of entrepreneurs, civil servants and high-level private employees, and those who support a very strong Hindu nationalist drive.
There were clashes, albeit limited on balance, when the strikers tried to reach the city centers and clashed with the police who also used water cannons.
The largest organized strike in history was completely ignored by the Italian media. Once it would have passed through the news, at least for the size of the event. Today there is a fear of showing situations in which trade unions do their job, protect workers and small entrepreneurs and try to improve social protections. Perhaps they fear that in Italy someone might remember that there is a right to strike and to demonstrate. Perhaps they fear that the people will remember that they are composed not of sheep, but of men.
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Article 250 million participate in the largest strike in history. In Italy nobody told you … maybe you could wake up it comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/in-250-milioni-partecipano-al-piu-grande-sciopero-della-storia-in-italia-non-ve-lo-ha-detto-nessuno-magari-potevate-svegliarvi/ on Sun, 29 Nov 2020 14:41:02 +0000.