Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Italy (Ratification: 1958)

The Committee notes the Government’s detailed comments on the observations made in 2024 by the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) and the Italian Union of Labour (UIL), including those relating to acts of violence against trade union premises. The Government’s replies were taken into account by the Committee in its examination of the issues raised below.

The Committee previously noted that the aforementioned trade union organizations had opposed: (i) the decision of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT) to reduce the duration of a strike in the transport sector to four hours in November 2023, by issuing a unilateral order to resume work; and (ii) changes to the rules governing representation on the National Economic and Labour Council (CNEL) for the period 2023–28, withdrawing one seat from the CGIL, the UIL and the Italian Confederation of Workers’ Trade Unions (CISL), while increasing the presence of other non-representative trade union organizations that did not meet the required conditions. As both issues are the subject of appeals before the administrative courts, the Committee requested the Government to communicate the relevant court decisions as soon as they had been adopted.

With regard to the allegation concerning the reduction of the duration of the strike action in the transport sector in November 2023, the Committee notes that the Government reiterates that: (i) the decision of the MIT’s political authority to reduce the duration of the strike to four hours does not constitute a violation of the right to strike, insofar as the strike proclaimed by the CGIL and the UIL as a “general” strike was, on the contrary, considered by the competent administrative authority as a multi-sectoral strike and, therefore, subject to individual sectoral regulations; and (ii) the MIT merely exercised the power of intervention conferred by Act No. 146/90 in order to protect the right to free movement. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government, the administrative appeal for annulment of the MIT’s decision is still pending.

Concerning the rules governing representation on the CNEL for the period 2023–28, the Committee notes that the Government reiterates that it wished to renew the CNEL by applying two criteria, the representativeness of organizations and trade union pluralism, in such a way as to expand, in a balanced and transparent manner, the number of workers’ and employers’ organizations, without penalizing the most representative organizations, with the sole aim of making social dialogue broader and more effective. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided any information on the administrative appeal concerning the procedures for renewing the CNEL. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of the appeals before the administrative courts (on the reduction of strike duration by the MIT and on representation at the CNEL) and to communicate the relevant court decisions as soon as they have been adopted.

In its previous comment, the Committee noted that the Internal Security Bill (DDL Sicurezza) of 2024 could undermine the free exercise of peaceful demonstrations. Noting, in particular, that section 14 of the Bill provided for penalties ranging from six months to two years’ imprisonment for demonstrators who, collectively, blocked roads or railways with their bodies, the Committee requested the Government to ensure, in consultation with the social partners, that the legislation did not contravene the guarantees established by the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the text was adopted on 11 April 2025 and then, without amendment, became law, or Act No. 80 of 9 June 2025. The Committee notes that this law has been criticized by the Supreme Court of Cassation, including for criminalizing road blockades, in its report on new standards dated 23 June 2025 (Report No. 33/2025). The Committee notes, in particular, that this report raises concerns about the criminalization of behaviour often associated with peaceful gatherings and acts of passive resistance, when actions such as blocking roads or railways, frequently used during strikes or demonstrations, are means of expressing labour disputes and are closely linked to the exercise of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Recalling the fundamental importance of civil liberties for the exercise of trade union rights, and recalling that the peaceful exercise of these rights should not lead to arrest or imprisonment, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this matter in connection with the constitutional review of Act No. 80 of 9 June 2025.