The Turin May Day procession focuses on peace, justice and work. The institutions and trade unions are in the forefront. At the center of the debate is also the high number of unrelated deaths, which the unions reiterate is the first emergency to be resolved. And then there is the employment question. The topic of the relaunch of Mirafiori entered the debate after the demonstration of trade unions and white-collar workers on 12 April. «But this is also an opportunity to focus attention on poor work, the underpaid work of riders and temporary workers», they say from the march.
Mirafiori Torino doesn’t give up, 12,000 of them go on a joint strike by the six unions
diego molino, giovanni turi
April 13, 2024
Hundreds of people are gathering in Piazza Vittorio. Today’s procession changes route compared to the past. Leave via Po due to construction work in progress. Parade in Corso San Maurizio, Viale dei Partigiani, Piazza Castello and Via Roma. It will end in Piazza San Carlo with the speech of the mayor, the trade associations and Giovanni Cortese of Uil Turin and Piedmont who will speak on behalf of CGIL, CISL and UIL.
But over all this dominates the unknown of the social segment, formed by the university collectives and the Askatasuna militants. Last Sunday’s announcement at the march against the G7 in Venaria was a sort of manifesto of what can happen today: “We will not leave the stage to the unions who sold us to the bosses.”
When there were a few minutes left until 9.30, the procession had not yet left. The gathering proceeds slowly also due to the rain.
Mirafiori strike, the city that resists and the one that remains on the sidelines
Paolo Griseri
April 13, 2024
There are some updates
10.49am
Fiom’s f*** at the Government
Interventions are underway in Piazza San Carlo. While at the entrance to Piazza Castello, a stone’s throw from the prefecture, the Fiom segment stops. And he chants slogans against the government: «Meloni, Meloni vaffan*». Armored prefecture and chants: “It’s us, it’s us, the workers of Turin are us.”
10.42am
The social segment: «We are the largest group, we must make ourselves heard»
The social section of the social centers with Askatasuna, No Tav, Pro Palestina and student collectives enters Viale dei Partigiani. The Israeli-Palestinian question is central, as it has been for all the days of the G7. «The people in revolt write history, Intifada until victory», is the slogan chanted behind a large Palestine banner waved from the front rows. They say: «We are the most significant part of this procession. We have to make ourselves heard.”
10.32am
The CGIL: «Record participation despite those who want to demonize us»
The march continues. And the increasingly intense rain does not discourage the participants. On the contrary. The number has definitely increased in the last half hour. And there are those who say that participation is record breaking. Much more than in previous years. «The right has tried to demonize us, this is our response. Today in Turin must become a symbol”, say the CGIL workers in the procession.
10.25am
«I have been on 5% redundancy for two months. What dignity is this?”
The head of the procession has now reached Piazza Castello. The rain makes everything more serious. Few slogans, almost no signs. Only the stories of those who took to the streets to reiterate that work is a value and must be defended. And, even today, it must be the priority. Stories like that of Ettore Cresto, CGIL delegate at Carrefour: «May Day is part of every worker’s religion. I’ve been on 5% redundancy for two months. What dignity is this? The company doesn’t know how to stay on the market and we lose out. With our lives.”
10.17am
«With the Palestinians against the Meloni government, complicit in the wars»
A large Palestinian flag and a banner with the writing “With the Palestinian resistance against the Meloni government, complicit in wars and social crises” opens the section of the social opposition. The protesters hold placards that read “We stand with the Palestinian resistance alongside all oppressed peoples.”
10.15am
The riders’ battle: «Our rights trampled upon»
“Today is Workers’ Day and we remember 250 years of struggle that led us to have rights that are too often trampled on today.” Francesco Silvestri, rider and delegate of the CGIL, says it. «I’m 25 years old and I’ve been a rider for four. Much of those gains have been lost, including the right to be called an employee. Our category proves it.”
May Day procession in Turin, mayor Lo Russo: “Work is the characterizing feature of the city”
10:08
The Anpi: «We don’t live by memories but by values»
Delegates from 8 sections of the ANPI are present at the procession. Renato Appiano, of the provincial secretariat of Anpi, the National Association of Partisans of Italy: «The values of the Resistance and the Constitution are being rediscovered. Despite the Government that never says the word Anti-fascist.” And he adds: «Last year we increased the number of members of the provincial ANPI by 1200. We are here because we do not live on memories but on values that must always be defended even in today’s society.”
09:51
La Gioc: «Kids leave Italy because work is underpaid in our country»
«Paid yes but how? In balance on precariousness” reads the banner of Gioc, Christian Worker Youth, an association that has always been close to young people in training courses and in the suburbs. «Work is too often underpaid. And the kids leave Italy because they can’t realize their life plans. A topic that we cannot fail to address”, reflects the national president Ilaria Lodato. A strong reminder of the ethics of entrepreneurs, the need for fair compensation and the illegitimacy of relocations and closures by healthy businesses that generate profits in the name of an exasperated search for ever greater wealth is contained in the message that the Archbishop of Turin Roberto Repole released for Labor Day.
09:46
The Democratic Party: “The fight against the mafia is our objective”
The segment of the Democratic Party parades behind the van from which the song «I 100 passi», dedicated to Peppino Impastato, rises. «Legality – they say – must be our beacon. The fight against mafias is our goal.” Among the politicians present is the radical Silvio Viale and behind the Avs banner Roberto Tricarico, leader of the regional elections.
09:37
Mayor Lo Russo: «Work is the characterizing feature of Turin»
Mayor Stefano Lo Russo opens the march. He talks about work and the importance of recovery policies and occupational dignity. Which, «must be at the center of our commitment. Also in view of the European elections.” «Work is the characterizing aspect of Turin and work is our main objective, also at the center of the interventions carried out with the Pnrr».
09:24
Off to the parade in the rain
At this moment the procession has started from along Cadorna: it marches under umbrellas, under an incessant rain. In front of the banners of the Region, Turin and the metropolitan city. All the trade union acronyms CGIL, CISL and UIL are present, as well as representatives of civil society such as the banners of the Democratic Jurists, the Arci and the Gioc, the segment of the social opposition of the Askatasuna social centres, the No Tav and the student collectives. Also in the procession were pro-Palestine flags.
