New rules on general strikes in essential public services

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In September 2003, Italy’s Guarantee Authority on strikes in essential public services set out rules to be observed by public sector workers in the event of a general strike called by trade union confederations. The rules cover matters such as the provision of minimum services and were drawn up with trade union input.

In mid-September 2003, the Guarantee Authority for the Implementation of the Law on Strikes in Essential Public Services (Commissione di garanzia per l’attuazione della legge sullo sciopero nei servizi pubblici essenziali), established by Article 12 of law no. 146/1990 on strikes in essential public services, presented to the trade unions a proposal for rules to be respected by public sector unions in the event of a general strike called by union confederations (essentially for 'political' reasons).

The Guarantee Authority is charged with ensuring that the exercise of the right to strike does not infringe on citizens’ fundamental rights (IT0004266F). To this end the Authority has defined, together with the sectoral trade union organisations, the essential services which must be guaranteed in the event of strikes in public services such as education, transport, healthcare, waste disposal, post and telecommunications etc. The rules established by the Authority do not cover strikes called by union confederations for 'non-contractual' reasons, though until now the unions organisations have always applied the rules which regulate the provision of essential public services even during such general strikes.

The trade unions saw the Authority's initiative as an attempt to 'normalise' general strikes, to which – according to the law in force – some rules governing strikes in essential public services cannot be applied. These include rules on conciliation and cooling-off procedures and on the maximum duration of strikes. On 16 September 2003, the president of the Guarantee Authority, Antonio Martone, met representatives of the main trade union confederations - the General Confederation of Italian Workers (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, Cgil), the Italian Confederation of Workers’ Unions (Confederazione Italiana Sindacato Lavoratori, Cisl) and the Union of Italian Workers (Unione Italiana del Lavoro, Uil). He clarified that the proposed regulation did seek to limit the possibility for the union confederations to call a general strike, but rather to regulate the behaviour of the sectoral unions in essential public services in the event of a general strike.

After the meeting, which satisfied all parties, the Authority developed a new proposal taking into account the views of the trade unions. On 24 September 2003, it approved the new rules on general strikes affecting essential public services. The main points of the regulations are as follows:

• the sectoral trade union organisations which represent workers in essential public services must respect the provisions of law no. 146/1990 on strikes in such services;

• in the event of a general strike, the sectoral union organisations must respect the provisions of the 1990 law regarding the interval between a strike call and the start of the strike;

• in the event of a general strike, the statutory conciliation and cooling-off procedures and the maximum limits on the duration of strikes will not be applied, but the sectoral trade unions will have to guarantee - for the whole duration of the strike - the minimum services provided by the rules for their sector; and

• there must a minimum interval between one general strike and another. In the event of strikes called very close to one another by different trade union confederations, the Guarantee Authority will assess if the 'non-respect of the minimum interval may jeopardise the right to strike and constitutional individual rights'.