CGIL calls on political parties to repeal the Jobs Act on May 1st at Portella della Ginestra

Last Updated: May 1, 2024

Il Primo Maggio a Portella della Ginestra, l'appello della Cgil ai partiti per abrogare il Jobs Act

The event organized by Cgil and Fp Cgil to commemorate the anniversary of the massacre of farmers and laborers that occurred on May 1, 1947 in Portella della Ginestra has concluded. After a commemoration at the cemetery of Piana degli Albanesi, where a wreath was laid, a procession left from the Casa del Popolo to reach the plateau of Portella della Ginestra. A ceremony took place at Sasso di Barbato, with a minute of silence and the reading of the names of the victims by Chiara Sciortino, the granddaughter of Ignazio Plescia, one of the survivors of the massacre. Maria Modica, responsible for the Labor Union of Piana degli Albanesi, gave opening remarks, followed by Cgil Palermo Secretary General Mario Ridulfo and Fp Cgil National Secretary General Serena Sorrentino, who urged the political leaders present, such as PD Secretary Elly Schlein and M5s President Giuseppe Conte, to support Cgil’s referendum to repeal the Job Acts.

“We are here in Portella under the auspices of peace, Constitution, and rights,” Sorrentino said. “The first massacre of workers in republican Italy took place here. Commemorating Portella della Ginestra means putting the dignity of labor at the center, starting with the role of public services, which we proudly represent as tools and guarantees of democracy and citizenship rights.”

“In these years, governments have changed, the political forces supporting them have changed, but the result remains the same, or even worse: workers, pensioners, young people, and women pay the highest price,” said Cgil Palermo Secretary General Mario Ridulfo. “May Day, the Workers’ Day, is not the end but represents the continuity of a mobilization for labor that has never stopped and now needs to continue for peace in Europe. In a world without peace, there is no social justice.”