31 May 2020

Our flyer: sit-in of immigrant workers in Rome (31 May 2020)

Against the Conte-Di Maio-Zingaretti government!

For a real and generalized "sanatoria"!

 In September 2019, the "yellow-green" government headed by Conte and supported by the Lega of Salvini and the M5S of Di Maio was fallen. A new government was born, without Salvini, headed again by Conte and supported by M5S and Pd.

According to the propaganda of its supporters, this new government would have pursued a policy towards immigrants radically different from that of Salvini. A "anti-racist" and "welcoming" policy. It’s been about nine months and this promise has turned out to be false!

The racist Bossi-Fini law is still in place. The vast majority of the measures put in place by Salvini are still in force. Migrant workers continue to be exploited and discriminated against, while they continually face blackmail over the renewal of residence permits.

It couldn’t have been any other way! The Conte-Di Maio-Zingaretti is a government at the service of the bosses and the exploitation apparatus against workers, both immigrants and Italians. This anti-proletarian and racist nature of the incumbent government also emerges from the so-called "sanatoria" just launched.

Despite what the government propaganda says, this measure doesn't aim to permanently improve the immigrants status. It concerns only part of the illegal alien workers; it offers them, not without technicality and bureaucratic interferences, ultra-temporary and precarious permits. This measure is actually aimed at supporting social and political interests which have nothing to do with the protection of immigrant workers.

 First goal. Because of the health emergency, the number of immigrants ready to work in the countryside has decreased significantly. For this reason, the Italian capitalists and the Italian masters risk losing about 20% of the summer products (tomatoes, fruit, wine grapes, etc.) and their profits. The government "sanatoria" is needed to ensure adequate "disposable" manpower and preventing this from happening. In the meanwhile, in the many agricultural ghettos from north to south of Italy, thousands of immigrant proletarians are forced to live as herded animals, in inhuman hygienic conditions.

Second goal. For fear of the virus, there might be a lack of care workers and maids. It is absolutely necessary to  avoid that the army of super-exploited women (and men) diminish; they are become more and more indispensable for many Italian families and for the overall functioning of the entire national capitalist machine.

Because of the health emergency, tens of thousands of immigrants have lost or risk losing their jobs (regular or not ). We cannot and must not rely on government policy but we must fight:

- For a "sanatoria" which is not limited to agriculture and domestic care work, but is extended to all areas of work (construction, logistics, catering);

- For permissions to be granted without the request of the owner, but with a simple self-certification. And so that the worker does not have to pay any 'tax for the request';

- For permanent permissions, not ultra-temporary ones.

To try to achieve this, it is necessary to build a great strength. For this reason we really have to look for links with all those immigrants who, in various areas of Italy and with many difficulties, in these days have come into struggle.

We must resume the path of stable organization and try to make it clear to Italian workers, today "deaf", that it is also their interest to fight against racism, discrimination and for full rights of immigrants.

       31 May 2020