A huge number of workers in various fields of activity around the world take various measures to protest, among which there is a strike. Its Italian variety is significantly different from most analogues, and at the same time, the employer has no reason to punish employees in any way. This is its advantage, but partially its disadvantage, which allows management to ignore the demands of workers. The effectiveness of the strike varies depending on the mood of the employees, their functions and the severity of the problem. The more complex the issue under discussion and the more opportunities workers have, the greater the chances of a positive result.
What is an Italian strike?
This concept is a protest, in which people, instead of refusing to perform their functions, on the contrary, begin to perform them so meticulously and verbatim that labor efficiency drops significantly. This is the main difference from other analogues. In the usual case, work simply stops, which allows the employer to apply certain measures of influence on rebellious subordinates. But in the version with the Italian variety of formal reasons for such actions, there is simply no. It is based on the impossibility of drawing up such a job or service instruction that would correctly evaluate all the activities of an employee. Often, much is indicated in it very blurry, which allows employees to find fault with each item. The work will be done, but much slower and not as efficient as in normal mode.
First use
The term "Italian strike" first appeared in 1904. It was introduced by employees of the railway company, who were extremely dissatisfied with the activities of the leadership, but did not have the opportunity to simply stop work. Instead, they began to fulfill their functions very meticulously and did not deviate from them a single step. In theory, this approach was supposed to cause an increase in work efficiency, but in fact, everything began to happen much more slowly. Many trains were canceled, and the company suffered huge losses. According to other sources, for the first time the same thing also happened in Italy, but not with the railroad workers, but with the pilots. The essence of this does not change. An interesting feature is that in some cases the instructions are not used according to which the workers are obliged to perform their functions, but the rules specially developed by the employees themselves, which do not contradict the law and the letter of the regulatory documentation, but in fact significantly slow down the work process.
Events in the port of St. Petersburg
In Russia, for the first time, this happened around 1907. At least, this year is indicated in the newspaper in which such a term was first discovered. To this day, such strikes regularly take place around the world. In 2015, another Italian strike took place in St. Petersburg. The seaport, whose workers protested against existing labor contracts, was practically paralyzed, although all its functions were strictly carried out. Unless very long and extremely inefficient. The losses were colossal. The company initially tried to find a compromise, but invariably ran into a lack of workers' desire to make concessions. In the end, the situation was resolved. Details were not disclosed, but it is unlikely that both sides achieved exactly the conditions they wanted.
Doctors in Moscow
Another similar case, albeit not on such a scale, comprehended our capital. Moscow, the Italian strike which took place in the same year 2015, did not feel any particular inconvenience, since the problem concerned working conditions in a single hospital. And not all doctors joined the protests. But the situation got a resonance strong enough, which doctors sought. It is difficult to imagine how a doctor will act who strictly complies with all instructions, standards and requirements. In fact, given their total number and the fact that they largely interpret the same thing in completely different ways, it is not surprising that the service in the medical facility was practically stopped.
Protests in the State Duma
Even before the moment when the Italian strike of doctors began, in 2012 this happened in the governing bodies of the country. So, the deputies of "Fair Russia" tried to drag out the time to consider a bill that did not suit them, as a result of which such a protest rally was chosen. It was expressed in the monotonous reading and consideration of hundreds of amendments, each of which was specified incredibly long. It was planned to make up about 1000 of these elements, but only 357 came out. This did not lead to success. The only thing that happened was to stretch out a couple of extra hours of time. “United Russia” intervened, which banally crushed the problem by the number of its votes.
Japanese variety
The Italian strike has direct analogues in other countries. An excellent example of this is Japan, in which employees also often staged such protests. But taking into account the mentality of the population of this state, this is somewhat peculiar. The first difference, which is simply incomprehensible to a Russian person, is a warning to the employer that exactly one month later, if he does not listen to the requirements of the employees, they will start a strike. It is expressed simply in that, in addition to clearly following the instructions, along with decorating their uniforms with badges and inscriptions indicating the fact against which the protest is taking place.
Italian truckers
Not all protests on the Apennine Peninsula take place in this style. A direct example of this is the strike of Italian truckers, which was carried out in a tough style. They simply blocked all major transportation routes, paralyzing the country for a long period. There was even a shortage of products in stores, which had not happened for a very long time. The losses to the state were incredible. Ultimately, the requirements of the drivers were met. If we analyze all the factors, we can conclude that the Italian type of strike extremely rarely leads to the desired result. More often than not, it simply attracts public opinion and indirectly forces management to at least partially satisfy the requirements of employees. Such protests rarely occur for truly serious reasons.
How to deal with Italian strikes?
When such a concept only appeared, the question immediately arose of what to do if it was impossible to satisfy the demands of the protesters. There are several basic ways. The first is based on ignoring the fact of the strike. If the company does not have profit in principle or decreased efficiency, then it will simply not be possible to achieve any positive effect. This is true of government agencies, most of which generate no income. Another option is to foresee such an opportunity and create such instructions, the verbatim implementation of which will not affect the effectiveness of the company. It is almost impossible. The third method is pressure on employees. This is not only dangerous, because it can lead to toughening the protest, but also in many cases it is illegal. The easiest option is to heed the demands of employees and, as far as possible, explain why they are impossible. Promise to improve the situation as soon as possible, and so on. Usually this is enough, but you need to remember that promises will have to be fulfilled sooner or later.
Summary
The Italian strike refers to the completely legal methods of protest. It in no way allows the employer to impose penalties or penalties on employees. This is both its strengths and weaknesses. With such a strike, employees are still forced to go to work and strictly perform their functions. It is not always possible to achieve such an effect that would make the employer really listen to the requirements. In principle, such a protest is an average option between a complete stoppage of the company’s activities and its normal functioning. It is noted that serious issues are not resolved in this way, but to draw attention to minor problems is quite real.