Ready, go. The new month begins and there are already demonstrations and protests planned. October 2026 will be a month of inconvenience for those who travel, work or simply live in the city. The strike calendar is very busy, with a couple of national general protests (both on Friday: the 2nd of the month, then the 30th) and other protests by national and local workers which will mainly involve the transport, healthcare and school sectors. The October strike calendar on the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport website is constantly updated, but some key dates are already confirmed. Calendar in hand, let’s see what awaits us.
The general strike on Friday 2 October
We start on Friday 2 October: it promises to be a high-voltage day for public and private services throughout Italy. In fact, a multi-sectoral general strike lasting 24 hours has been proclaimed which threatens to paralyze several key sectors of the country. The protest, called by the European Workers’ Trade Union Confederation (Csle) with the support of the Fi-Si union, is against the high cost of living, with the request for urgent measures to improve the purchasing power of families. The lockout will be massive and transversal, because it involves employees from both the public and private sectors.
Workers from schools, healthcare, law enforcement, maritime workers, metalworkers and local authorities will cross their arms for the whole day. Disruptions are also expected in the agriculture, livestock and private security sectors. The rail transport sector will participate in the protest in a reduced form, but not without consequences. Abstention from work is set from 11am to 2pm. As regards long-distance trains, Trenitalia ensures that the national trains included in the minimum service tables on its website will still be guaranteed.
More critical issues are expected at a local level, because the stop falls outside the guarantee time slots. In Lombardy, Trenord has already warned of the risk of repercussions on the regional network. For the airport service, in the event of cancellations, replacement buses will be arranged without intermediate stops.
Lessons at risk at school
It will be a Black Friday for school too. The strike will involve all staff in the education and research sector. In case of high participation by teachers and ATA staff, lessons could be skipped for the entire day. Individual schools are required to monitor employees’ intentions to join in order to promptly communicate to families any changes in timetables or suspension of educational activities.
Why we protest
At the center of the general mobilization is the strong loss of workers’ purchasing power. The unions are clamoring for targeted intervention on the cost of petrol and food, accompanied by a reduction in taxation and an adjustment of wages to cope with inflation. Among the requests, structural and economic issues also stand out, such as the start of a path towards national energy independence and the development of industrial policies to support Italian companies.
The other strikes
Saturday 3 October, however, promises to be a difficult day for those who have to travel to Genoa, with the strike of AMT, the local public transport company. These are the times: for urban transport, from the start of service to 5.30am, from 9.30am to 5pm and from 9pm to the end of service; for extra-urban buses from the start of service at 6am, from 9am to 5pm and from 8pm to the end of service; for the Genoa-Casella railway from the start of service at 6.30am, from 9.30am to 5.30pm and from 8.30pm to the end of service.
Milan and Sicily
Fs Security workers in Sicily will go on strike on Thursday 8 October, from 6am to 10pm. The mobilisation, proclaimed by Fast Confsal and Orsa Trasporti, will not automatically lead to the blocking of regional railway traffic, given that it affects a specific category of workers. For Friday 9 October there are two strikes proclaimed by the trade unions Confial Trasporti and Al Cobas which will affect ATM Milan and could paralyze local mobility, from the morning to the end of the service. The usual guarantee bands will be provided.
Florence and Bari
On Saturday 10 October it will be the turn of Florence, with the strike of Gest employees proclaimed by Cobas private work for 24 hours: two guaranteed periods are foreseen, from 6.30 to 9.30 and from 17 to 20. On Monday 12 October the workers of Amtab, the local public transport company of Bari, are expected to strike. The mobilization will last four hours, from 8.30 to 12.30.
Again Sicily, then Tuscany
A strike by RFI workers in Sicily is expected from 9pm on Monday 12th to 8.59pm on Tuesday 13th October, which could cause inconvenience for travelers along regional lines. On Wednesday 14 October, however, a general strike is planned for the public and private sectors, including contracting, in the Tuscany region. Only school and air transport are excluded. The following times are foreseen for transport: for the Railways the whole day, from 09.01 to 17; for railway contracts, the second half shift of the work shift; for local public transport four hours are foreseen, with different modes; for rail freight transport, however, the entire work performance.
EasyJet and Foggia
Thursday 15 October is the turn of local public transport in Foggia (Ataf) with the protest called by Faisa Cisal and Filt Cgil from midnight to 5.30 am, from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm and from 3.30 pm to the end of service. And again: the private labor union Usb has proclaimed a 24-hour strike for Friday 16 October for all airline staff of the EasyJet company.
School and fire brigade
The school stops on Friday 16 October due to the national strike of all teaching, management and ATA staff, permanent and temporary, proclaimed by the Sisa union for the entire day. At the center of the protest are wages, with the request for a 20% increase in salaries to recover from inflation, and precarious work. A national fire brigade strike is also planned for 16 October: the agitation, proclaimed by the FP Cgil union, will last from 10am to 2pm.
A new general strike
The month ends with the general strike on Friday 30 October, proclaimed by the USI Cit union for the whole day: it will affect all categories, including schools, but with the exclusion of transport, and was proclaimed against the war and military spending.