Sunday, February 10, 2008

Naples Garbage Crisis Over - - Reminder of London's 1979 "Winter of Discontent"

The ANNOTICO Report

 

Berlusconi has been trying to "capitalize" on the Naples Garbage Mess, (or even "engineered " it) . One must recognize that  previous rightwing Campania councils also failed to fix the problem, and that the city's woes stemmed from Mr Berlusconi's five years in office, not the last two of Mr Prodi.

 

While those who like to find any excuse to criticize Italy, or those Italian Right wing politicians who want to exploit the situation with their "Chicken Little" shrieks, have short memories, since less than 30 years ago, in that very "civilized" country of England, in The Winter of Discontent" not only did Garbage pile high in Central London's Leicester Square, but most transportation came to a halt for two months!!!!

 

Below are articles about the London "Winter of Discontent" and the Naples Rubbish Cleanup.

 

1978-1979: Winter of Discontent

 

Libcm.org

Alex Aspden

January 24th, 2007 

In the winter of 1978-1979 in Britain. The 'Winter of Discontent' marked the largest stoppage of labour since the 1926 General Strike.

Harold Wilson's government, wanting to limit  inflation agreed to cap pay increases for workers at limits set by the government.

First, the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) struck , lorry drivers, petrol tanker drivers, public sector unions, railwaymen schools and airports, ambulance drivers, gravediggers

 

Another memorable strike occurring towards the end of the winter was that of the waste collection workers. With many collectors having remained out since January 22, local councils were running out of space for storing waste. Rubbish was piled high in Central London's Leicester Square after Westminster Council had allocated rubbish to be dumped there. The rubbish attracted rats and, rather indistinguishably, the conservative media, who used pictures of the Square in an attempt to discredit the strikers. Continuing its constant campaign throughout the winter criticizing the strikers through the medium of the "breakdown of public convenience", the pictures of the piled rubbish presented itself as yet another front on which to attack the workers. The waste collectors strike ended on February 21, when the workers accepted an 11% increase and an extra #1 a week with possible increases in the future,  bringing an end to the winter long series of disputes.

Due to the lack of control many unions had over their members by this time, many strikes did not end immediately after the agreement, testimony to the initiative exercised by many rank and file workers throughout the period who were willing and able to work and initiate strikes outside of their union's control. Most had returned to work by the end of February after a total of 29,474,000 working days having been lost to strike action. The direct action help stem the tide of effective pay cuts by inflation eating up the value of their wages and won significant improvements for many tens of thousands of workers.

 

Centre-left at Risk of Sinking in Naples Rubbish

 

Financial Times

By Guy Dinmore in Naples

February 9 2008

The mountains of rubbish that piled up in Naples have mostly gone, thanks to the efforts of a former national police chief dispatched from Rome as a "garbage tsar".

But the lingering images, and smells, of the crisis could well translate into defeat at the polls for Italy's centre-left government.

Just as pictures of London wallowing in waste in the 1979 "winter of discontent" helped to sink the British Labour government of the day, so the mess in Naples is to be used by Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's centre-right opposition leader, in his comeback plans for the mid-April general election.

Fortunately for the billionaire former prime minister, an investigation into alleged fraud and abuse of office by government officials has just reached the courts of Naples.

Pre-trial hearings began for Antonio Bassolino, the leftwing governor of the surrounding region of Campania, and 27 others, including his former deputies from when he previously served as garbage commissioner.

"Rubbish, jobs, security." Marcello Di Caterina, a textiles merchant and key organiser of the centre-right election campaign in Naples, ticked off the agenda.

"This crisis was a terrible loss of image for Italy," he said. He also recalled that clashes with police over rubbish had contributed in large part to Romano Prodi, the centre-left prime minister, losing a parliamentary vote of confidence on January 24.

For months, Mr Berlusconi has been preparing for action in Campania, where he lost only narrowly to Mr Prodi in the 2006 elections, when the centre-right claimed fraud in Naples....

...The new centre-left Democratic party, led by Walter Veltroni, Rome's mayor, appears to have hardly got off the ground in Naples.

Nicola Tremante, on the party's executive board, admitted the rubbish crisis would have an impact on voters. But he believed they would "see the whole picture" and understand that previous rightwing Campania councils also failed to fix the problem, and that the city's woes stemmed from Mr Berlusconi's five years in office, not the last two of Mr Prodi.

Acknowledging an exodus of young people because of violence and joblessness, he insisted crime statistics were improving. But the popular perception is different. "Even my wife and daughter think we are in a worse position now," he admitted.

 

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