The Local Police Workers’ Union (Sulpl) has declared a 24-hour strike for Monday 6 May, the day on which the third stage of the Giro d’Italia is expected to start in Novara. The regional secretary of Sulpl, Piero Primucci, indicated the reasons for the abstention from work: «At the end of August 2019 we asked to address some issues including the decrease in the salary received, the method of requesting holidays, the management of the on-call shifts, the failure to prepare service vehicles, the inadequacy of the headquarters premises, the management of Sunday and holiday services, the organization of the service related to the presence of officers, the lack of staff, the safety of the operators, social security and supplementary assistance. After the meeting, Covid broke out and no one allowed themselves to complain because they were aware of the bad moment and the need to do their duty without any ifs or buts.”
«The last discussion with the commander dates back to a month ago, on 3 April, during which issues such as working hours, services at the stadium, the premises of the new Command, the night service, the coordination of the instructors, the external service allowance, the payment methods for the Giro d’Italia and motorcyclist clothing – continues the secretary -. The commander then responded in written form point by point, but the attempt at conciliation on 19 April with the prefect’s delegate failed and most of the issues are still unresolved. For this reason, a strike has been called for the whole day on Monday.”
«After the failed conciliation attempt, the Municipality convened a table on April 30th, but the union representatives did not show up – replies the local police commander, Paolo Cortese -. The right to strike is sacrosanct, but I find it inappropriate to declare it on the day in which the city will be busy with the Giro d’Italia.”
