Friday 6 November 2026 10:11
Italian teachers to protest in Rome on 11 November over budget cuts
Rome sit-in planned for 11 November as unions fight reductions to teaching and support staff, ahead of strike action on 20 November.Italian school unions will hold a sit-in in Rome on Wednesday 11 November to protest against job cuts to schools in the government’s 2027 budget bill. The protest is scheduled in Piazza Vidoni, near the public administration ministry, from 14.00 to 17.00. It is organised by four unions: Cisl Scuola, Uil Scuola Rua, Snals Confsal and Anief.The draft budget would cut teaching posts by almost 5,000 and non-teaching school staff by around 2,000 from the 2027-2028 school year, according to news agency ANSA. The reasoning is that falling birth rates mean fewer pupils and therefore less need for staff.The unions reject that logic. "It is a serious mistake to respond to the demographic decline with an equivalent reduction in school staff," stated union leaders Ivana Barbacci, Giuseppe D’Aprile, Elvira Serafini and Marcello Pacifico. They argue that school buildings and administrative demands remain largely unchanged even as pupil numbers fall, and that the cuts would mean heavier workloads and more precarious employment for staff, with the greatest harm in disadvantaged areas.Instead, they want more school time and more personalised teaching, in line with measures already funded by the EU-backed recovery plan (PNRR). The unions and opposition parties say keeping current staffing would allow smaller class sizes.The unions said they are open to talks with the government but that the willingness must be mutual. "You cannot claim to want to value school work more and then act in the opposite direction," they said.The protest will be followed on Monday 16 November by staff assemblies during working hours in schools across Italy. The unions have also been invited to Palazzo Chigi on Friday 13 November to discuss the budget bill with a government delegation.The school branch of the Cgil union, Flc Cgil, will not take part on 11 November. It will instead join the Cgil general strike on 20 November, when staff in schools, universities, research and other education sectors are due to stop work for the full day.
The union says the budget would cut more than 14,000 teaching and support posts over three years and provides no funding for the 2025-2027 contract renewal. Student associations are also set to march that day.
Photo credit: Eugenio Marongiu / Shutterstock.com
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Italian school unions will hold a sit-in in Rome on Wednesday 11 November to protest against job cuts to schools in the government’s 2027 budget bill.
The protest is scheduled in Piazza Vidoni, near the public administration ministry, from 14.00 to 17.00. It is organised by four unions: Cisl Scuola, Uil Scuola Rua, Snals Confsal and Anief.
The draft budget would cut teaching posts by almost 5,000 and non-teaching school staff by around 2,000 from the 2027-2028 school year, according to news agency ANSA. The reasoning is that falling birth rates mean fewer pupils and therefore less need for staff.
The unions reject that logic. "It is a serious mistake to respond to the demographic decline with an equivalent reduction in school staff," stated union leaders Ivana Barbacci, Giuseppe D’Aprile, Elvira Serafini and Marcello Pacifico. They argue that school buildings and administrative demands remain largely unchanged even as pupil numbers fall, and that the cuts would mean heavier workloads and more precarious employment for staff, with the greatest harm in disadvantaged areas.
Instead, they want more school time and more personalised teaching, in line with measures already funded by the EU-backed recovery plan (PNRR). The unions and opposition parties say keeping current staffing would allow smaller class sizes.
The unions said they are open to talks with the government but that the willingness must be mutual. "You cannot claim to want to value school work more and then act in the opposite direction," they said.
The protest will be followed on Monday 16 November by staff assemblies during working hours in schools across Italy. The unions have also been invited to Palazzo Chigi on Friday 13 November to discuss the budget bill with a government delegation.
The school branch of the Cgil union, Flc Cgil, will not take part on 11 November. It will instead join the Cgil general strike on 20 November, when staff in schools, universities, research and other education sectors are due to stop work for the full day.
The draft budget would cut teaching posts by almost 5,000 and non-teaching school staff by around 2,000 from the 2027-2028 school year, according to news agency ANSA. The reasoning is that falling birth rates mean fewer pupils and therefore less need for staff.
The unions reject that logic. "It is a serious mistake to respond to the demographic decline with an equivalent reduction in school staff," stated union leaders Ivana Barbacci, Giuseppe D’Aprile, Elvira Serafini and Marcello Pacifico. They argue that school buildings and administrative demands remain largely unchanged even as pupil numbers fall, and that the cuts would mean heavier workloads and more precarious employment for staff, with the greatest harm in disadvantaged areas.
Instead, they want more school time and more personalised teaching, in line with measures already funded by the EU-backed recovery plan (PNRR). The unions and opposition parties say keeping current staffing would allow smaller class sizes.
The unions said they are open to talks with the government but that the willingness must be mutual. "You cannot claim to want to value school work more and then act in the opposite direction," they said.
The protest will be followed on Monday 16 November by staff assemblies during working hours in schools across Italy. The unions have also been invited to Palazzo Chigi on Friday 13 November to discuss the budget bill with a government delegation.
The school branch of the Cgil union, Flc Cgil, will not take part on 11 November. It will instead join the Cgil general strike on 20 November, when staff in schools, universities, research and other education sectors are due to stop work for the full day.
The union says the budget would cut more than 14,000 teaching and support posts over three years and provides no funding for the 2025-2027 contract renewal. Student associations are also set to march that day.
Photo credit: Eugenio Marongiu / Shutterstock.com
