Currently, all workers in Italy are required to show a green pass to go to work. The green pass is a QR code that exhibits that the employees have been fully vaccinated, have paid for a Covid-19 test that has come back negative, or have recently (in the last 6 months) recovered from Covid-19.
This mandate applies to all employees, whether they are in the private OR public sector. Workers who decide to go to go to work without the pass will be fined up to 1,500 euros ($1,730) and risk suspension without pay.
One of the biggest demonstrations includes 6,000 workers at the major northeastern port of Trieste. Fabio Bocin, a 59-year old port worker in Trieste explained, “The green pass is a bad thing, it is discrimination under the law. Nothing more. It’s not a health regulation, it’s just a political move to create division among people…”
Alex Fraser, in Trieste, reported that Stefano Puzzer, a local trade union official stated, “Approximately 40% of Trieste’s port workers have not been vaccinated, a far higher proportion than in the general Italian population”
According to the news outlet, La Stampa, at major docks, approximately 300 workers have been blocking the entrance to the port of Genoa. Workers are threatening to go on strike over the new mandate.
Sources:
- Main Image: Dockers and port workers gathering for a protest in the port of Trieste, Friuli Venezia Giulia, on … [+]ANSA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
