General Confederation of Labour ( it, Confederazione Generale del Lavoro, CGdL) was an Italian labor union, founded in 1906, under the initiative of

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

militants. Having survived the

Fascist dictatorship A right-wing dictatorship, sometimes also referred to as a rightist dictatorship or right-wing authoritarianism, is an authoritarian or sometimes totalitarian regime following right-wing policies. Right-wing dictatorships are typically character ...

and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as an underground organization, the CGL joined the cross-party

CGIL The Italian General Confederation of Labour (; CGIL) is a national trade union based in Italy. It was formed by agreement between socialists, communists, and Christian democrats in the "Pact of Rome" of June 1944. In 1950, socialists and Christi ...

labor federation in 1945.

History

Founding

The Confederazione Generale del Lavoro was founded 1 October 1906 but its formation goes back to the first

Camera del Lavoro A list of national trade union centers in Italy include: Trade union centers Main national trade union centers The following three confederal trade unions are considered and recognised by the Italian Republic as relevant counterpart: * Italian Ge ...

(Workers' Hall) begun in Milan in 1891, and to the founding of its largest constituent unions (especially the FIOM national metal workers' union created in 1901). The CGdL's first secretary was the Reformist

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

Rinaldo Rigola (1906–1918). It affiliated to the International Secretariat of National Trade Union Centres.

Growth and decline

In the first few years, membership of the federation grew rapidly, reaching 383,770 in 1911. It then fell, but boomed at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and by 1920 had reached a peak, of 2,200,100. Over time, the trades councils became less important, and the national industrial unions became the dominant force; the CGdL itself always lacked authority, with affiliates freely joining and leaving. During the war, it was the only major European trade union federation to oppose its government's participation in the conflict. After the war, the federation was reluctant to follow the more radical line of the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...

, and this led Rigola to resign in 1918. He was replaced by fellow reformist

Ludovico D'Aragona Ludovico D'Aragona (23 May 1876 – 17 June 1961) was an Italian socialist politician who held several government posts. He also served at the Italian Parliament and Senate. Biography D'Aragona was born in Cernusco sul Naviglio, Milan, on 23 May ...

. The unions undertook a major campaign for a maximum eight-hour working day, but this was soon overtaken by the rise of fascism. The CGdL formed an Alliance of Labour with the syndicalist USI and UIL, which called a

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

in 1922, but achieved little. Membership of the federation began falling, and by 1924 was down to only 200,000. Its leaders proclaimed that it was apolitical, in the hope of avoiding a ban, but after the right to strike was abolished, in 1926, it could do little.

Bruno Buozzi Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

became the general secretary in January 1926, but was forced to flee the country later in the year. On 4 January 1927, the federation decided to dissolve itself.

Underground and Liberation

The decision to disband was opposed by communists, and by left socialists like Buozzi. The communists held a secret trade union congress in Milan in February 1927, also attended by some left-wing socialists. Little activity was possible, and the members largely began working in the official fascist trade unions, in the hope of inspiring resistance. Buozzi, based in France, also maintained a CGdL in exile, which had little influence in Italy. In 1936, he and the communists announced that they had agreed to co-operate, which had little immediate impact, but paved the way for a resurgence of trade union activity in the later part of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Postwar

After its forced suspension, unions were reconstituted under the Pact of Rome (3 June 1944), confederating the socialist, communist and Christian Democrat unions in the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labor). The influence of the PCI and Palmiro Togliatti, was strong in the federation, and in 1948 the PSI and Christian Democrat unions left to form the UIL and CISL.

Affiliates

The following unions were in existence by 1902, and were later involved with the CGdL:

General Secretaries

:1906: Rinaldo Rigola :1918:

:1926: Bruno Buozzi :1926: Battista Magilone

Bibliography

*Antonio Alosco, ''Alle origini del sindacalismo, La ricostruzione della CGL nell’Italia liberata (1943–1944)'', Prefazione di Giorgio Benvenuto, SugarCo Edizioni, Milano, 1979. *Arturo Peregalli, ''L’altra Resistenza. Il PCI e le opposizioni di sinistra in Italia 1943-1945'', Graphos, Genova, 1991.

References

{{Authority control Trade unions in Italy Modern history of Italy 1906 establishments in Italy Trade unions established in 1906 Trade unions disestablished in 1927