Over the last year Italian workers have been engaging in large scale resistance to the Italian government’s complicity in the Israeli war and genocide, as well as the subsequent internal austerity and crackdowns experienced in Italy. The strikes have been huge and defined by their overtly political character, unlike previous stoppages.
Crucially, on September 22nd 2025 workers, students and ordinary people embarked on a historic general strike in support of Palestine and to end their own governments complicity in the genocide. Led by several grassroots unions, including the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), CUB, SGB, ADL, Varese and USI-CIT, these strikes were the biggest in the country’s history, and helped spur on mass protest and continued action into 2026, where another general strike occurred in May.
Under the slogan “Blocchiamo Tutto” (“Let’s Block Everything”) the unions, led by dock workers at ports such as Genoa, Livorno and La Spezia, refused to unload cargo meant for Israel, went on strike. General strikes against the government’s austerity and war budget followed on November 28-29th and on December 12th. On May 18, 2026, rank-and-file unions called for a further general strike against war and austerity under the slogan “Not even a nail for wars and genocide”. Other significant protest actions occurred during this time, including one million people marching in Rome on October 4th 2025.
Despite anti-strike laws and a harsh crackdown the ‘base’ unions, as they are known, as well as a strong protest and student movement, have mounted a serious threat to the current far right Italian government led by Georgia Meloni. The government have been pressured to start modifying their position on Israel in the face of such strong resistance. The battle is still ongoing and the strength of the movement is being tested with some moderate unions withdrawing support, while others are joining in.
The general strikes, protests and blockades have pointed out the connection between the war industry profiting off rising military expenditure at a time where the wages are failing for ordinary Italians and public services are being cut and austerity is the dominant economic plan. People are shocked at the genocide in Palestine, and through these strikes are able to fight both to stop the genocide but to fight the internal repercussions within their own country. A link that has not been made here in Aotearoa as effectively.
A key tactic has been shutting down logistics and distribution networks, such as ports, shipping, transportation, as well as motorways and rail networks. New calls for a national aviation strikes as well as other delivery services and public servant strike have been made in recently expanding this strategy. This has been the corner stone of the pressure the moment has been able to mount.
The wave of strikes in Aotearoa in 2025, has shown, that without a systematic campaign of stoppages, and without a strategy to shut down key part of the economy, our demands cannot be won. We should take inspiration from the grass roots mobilisations of unions such as the USB; syndicalists who have a plan to fight and to win, not liberal unions who want to manage and uphold their position within the current system.
2026 is a crucial year for this Italian strike wave and we are watching keenly!