A-Infos (en) Italy, UCADI, #198 - Open Letter: Luigi Sbarra and the Betrayal of Workers (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

We are workers, not subjects. And we can no longer remain silent in the 
face of those who have chosen to betray our trust. ---- Luigi Sbarra, 
former general secretary of the CISL, breaking the union front, signed a 
contract for Central Functions on January 27, 2025 with a 5.6% increase 
in a context in which inflation exceeded 18%. An unacceptable contract, 
which has thus conditioned all negotiations for public employment 
contracts and has unloaded the entire weight of the crisis on the 
shoulders of those who work in public services.
Far from protecting rights: this was a total surrender, signed in the 
name of a misunderstood sense of responsibility that, in reality, has 
only served those in power.

But our disapproval and that of thousands of workers expressed in the 
referendum on the contract does not stop there.

But Sbarra did not stop at the category and the bargaining: he 
deliberately chose to sabotage the referendum promoted by the CGIL and 
UIL on labor issues by breaking the union front at the moment when it 
was most necessary to remain united. He thus weakened the bargaining 
power of workers and acted - once again - in favor of a political logic 
that was light years away from the real needs of people.

It should not be forgotten that at the CISL Congress, Prime Minister 
Meloni was welcomed like a star: applause, smiles, enthusiasm. A welcome 
that said everything about where the CISL was going. And in fact, right 
on time, the reward arrived: Luigi Sbarra was appointed undersecretary 
in the Meloni government. A political prize for those who chose to be on 
the side of power, betraying the workers.

And now? One of his "heir apparents" has been placed at the helm of the 
CISL to ensure continuity to this compliant and self-referential line, 
contrary to the interests of workers. The same line that has stopped 
defending wages, rights, dignity. But it is not enough.

The government has even created an ad hoc role for Sbarra, entrusting 
him with the management of the PNRR funds in the South. We are not 
talking about symbols, but billions of euros. The Government has placed 
in his hands a center of power and clientele that will allow him to 
build a mafia structure intended to manage the consensus of the 
populations of the South. Sbarra will be able to continue his usual 
work, in another form, but with much greater means.

A former trade unionist, servant of the bosses, who, after having 
trampled on workers' rights, ends up managing public resources, decisive 
for the future of millions of citizens of the South. Is this the CISL 
version of trade union autonomy?

Workers registered with the CISL should learn from what has happened and 
reflect on the opportunity to continue to be part of this organization.

But we are not in agreement.

Those who have sold out the union do not deserve the trust of workers.
It's time to put people back at the center of union action, not careers. 
It's time to fight in a union that defends the rights and interests of 
those it represents and not that bends.

Workers do not forget.

Rocco Petrone

https://www.ucadi.org/2025/06/22/lettera-aperta-luigi-sbarra-e-il-tradimento-dei-lavoratori/
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