Autonomy: Landini, the referendum battle goes on

The signatures collected for the referendum against the Autonomy Law called for the cancellation of the entire law, not just some parts: 'Our battle goes on'. This is what the Secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini said when interviewed on Radio24 by Maria Latella.

"The Constitutional Court's ruling, of which we will have to read the grounds, confirms our reasons. It is a law that divides the country and is wrong. We collected 1.3 million signatures for the total repeal of this law and we support the need to repeal it as a whole, not just in some points.

The union does not fear violence ('in the most absolute way') for the general strike on 29 November: 'the workers' movement has always fought violence, it has defeated terrorism both red and black, and in its time it defeated fascism and Nazism': so Landini explained that the union wants to widen the spaces of democracy and that participation is also a response 'to the social anger that has been determined, because when you are poor working something does not work'.

'Our tools,' Landini emphasised, 'are democratic, we take to the streets, we go on strike, we call for referendums, we call for the extension of all tools of participation. The people who take to the streets with us do so with free hands, without hoods or balaclavas. On the contrary, we take to the streets because our democracy is in crisis today: inequality has increased, people do not feel represented, and 50 per cent of Italians do not vote. We think that this crisis must be tackled by enlarging the spaces of democracy, by practising it. And, above all, there is a need to rebuild trust in order to respond to the social inequality and total anger that has arisen'.

The budget law 'is an unfair manoeuvre and also dangerous for the country: in order to reduce the debt it cuts public spending and does not act on revenues and cuts investments, from the self-employed to the south. And cutting spending means cutting healthcare, schooling, social services, in fact it means making people's lives worse. And the tax reform does not go and take the money where it is". These finally are the words of Maurizio Landini interviewed on Radio24 by Maria Latella. 'A country that has 90 billion in tax evasion cannot continue to make agreed amnesties or flat tax,' he added, 'it seems fair to you that workers and pensioners pay up to 43% in taxes and that income is taxed at 24% and real estate at 12% and that with the flat tax the self-employed pay 15%. For the same income there should be equal taxation. And as the constitution says everyone should be taxed according to their ability to pay.