Two of Italy’s three largest trade unions, CGIL and UIL, have called for a general strike tomorrow, Friday (November 29), in protest against the draft budget submitted to parliament by Giorgia Meloni’s government.

The eight-hour strike will affect both the private and public sectors, with the sole exception of railway services, which will operate as usual.

As for other public transport systems, the strike is expected to last four hours, based on the mandatory personnel requisition order signed by Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini. However, unions have legally challenged this decision, and a ruling from administrative courts is expected by Thursday evening.

In a statement, the CGIL union emphasized that tomorrow’s strike is a protest by “workers and pensioners against the reduction of purchasing power, cuts to health and education, the weakening of the welfare state, and the utterly inadequate responses to the housing crisis and the needs of citizens with disabilities.”

Conversely, CISL, the country’s third-largest union, does not support the strike. Its secretary, Luigi Sbarra, stated that “while the state budget plan can and should certainly be improved, the conditions necessary for a general strike, which should always remain a last resort, are not present.”

The CGIL and UIL unions plan to hold marches and rallies in more than 50 cities across the country tomorrow. The largest demonstrations are expected in Bologna, with the participation of CGIL Secretary Maurizio Landini, and in Naples, where UIL leader Pierpaolo Bombardieri is scheduled to speak.