The World Federation of Trade Unions expresses its class solidarity with the working people of Italy and its affiliated trade union center Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) ahead of the General Strike in Italy, on October 24th 2014.

The General Strike of the Italian working class is taking place in a period of a deep anti-workers aggression, not only in Italy, but all over Europe and the world, led by the capitalists, transnational corporations and their governments. The antilabor policies imposed by the troika of the European Union, European Central Bank and the IMF have led to cutbacks in salaries and pensions, loss of workers’ rights and trade union rights, worse working and living conditions, privatization of public wealth, dismantlement of public health and education systems, high unemployment and poverty for the working class and the masses of the people.

The October 24th general strike in Italy is a response to the antilabor policies the Italian government is implementing, policies of labor casualisation in public and private sector, cutting down workers’ rights, trying to place the burden of the capitalist crisis on the backs working class.

The class unity among the workers, regardless the sector they work in, if they have a permanent or a temporal job and their class oriented struggle can defend the workers rights, generate gains and set the foundations for the struggle for a world without capitalist exploitation.

On behalf of the 90 million workers around the world the WFTU represents today, we reiterate our full solidarity with the workers and the people of Italy, and our affiliated organization, USB of Italy, in the eve of the general strike of October 24th 2014.

THE SECRETARIAT