Italian General Confederation of Labour
Professional services
UnclaimedItaly's historic national trade-union centre and one of the country's largest labour organizations.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The Italian General Confederation of Labour, commonly known as CGIL, is a national trade-union centre representing workers across Italy. It was established during the final phase of the Second World War through the Pact of Rome, signed on 9 June 1944 by representatives of the Italian Communist Party, the Italian Socialist Party and Christian Democracy. The organization was conceived as a unified labour movement capable of representing workers across political and religious divisions after the collapse of Fascism. CGIL's roots reach back to the General Confederation of Labour founded in 1906 by socialist labour activists. That earlier organization was attacked and effectively dismantled under Fascist rule. Its traditions were maintained clandestinely by anti-Fascist trade unionists, including Bruno Buozzi, until the creation of the postwar CGIL. The new confederation expanded rapidly in liberated territories, establishing local labour chambers, negotiating wages and helping organize workers during the transition from dictatorship to republican government. The initial unity of the postwar organization did not survive the political polarization of the early Cold War. In 1950, the Christian-democratic component formed the Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions, or CISL, while the secular and social-democratic component formed the Italian Labour Union, or UIL. CGIL consequently became more closely associated with the Italian Communist Party and, later, with parties that emerged from the Italian Communist tradition. Despite this political influence, it remained a broad labour organization involved in workplace representation, collective bargaining, social policy and national economic debates. During the leadership of Giuseppe Di Vittorio, CGIL opposed restrictive labour and electoral policies, organized general strikes and promoted the 1950s Work Plan. The plan called for public works, housing construction, land reclamation and public control of strategic electricity production. Although it was not adopted as a government program, it helped present the confederation as an organization concerned with national development as well as workplace demands. The repression of communist trade unionists in factories, the 1956 Soviet intervention in Hungary and internal political disputes caused serious membership and organizational difficulties during the 1950s. CGIL regained influence during the labour and student mobilizations of the late 1960s. The pension reform of 1968, the joint May Day celebration organized with CISL and UIL, and the industrial conflicts of the Hot Autumn of 1969 strengthened the bargaining position of organized labour. The confederation supported the adoption of the Workers' Statute in 1970, a major legal framework for workplace rights and protection against discrimination and unjust dismissal. From 1972, CGIL, CISL and UIL operated through a federation intended to coordinate their principal actions, although full organizational unification was never achieved. In the 1970s, CGIL also participated in wider debates over civil rights, employment, social welfare, democracy and resistance to political terrorism. The economic crisis, industrial restructuring, automation and rising unemployment weakened the unions' leverage later in the decade. The confederation supported wage restraint through the 1978 EUR Turn, seeking an exchange between moderation in wage demands and public policies supporting employment and development. CGIL remains a major Italian labour institution. Its activities include collective bargaining, workplace representation, legal and social assistance, pension and welfare advice, migrant-worker support, campaigning on employment policy and participation in national social dialogue. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation and the European Trade Union Confederation and participates in the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD. Public descriptions have placed its membership above five million, but a current verified figure is not provided here.
History
CGIL's institutional ancestry lies in the General Confederation of Labour founded in 1906 by socialist activists. The organization became a principal vehicle for Italian labour representation before Fascism. In 1926, Fascist blackshirts destroyed its Milan headquarters, and the confederation was formally dissolved under dictatorship. Communist and socialist activists nevertheless preserved elements of its organization underground, despite repression and changing directives from the Communist International. The modern CGIL was created by the Pact of Rome on 9 June 1944. Giuseppe Di Vittorio signed for the Communist Party, Achille Grandi for Christian Democracy and Emilio Canevari for the Socialist Party; Oreste Lizzadri later assumed responsibility for the socialist component. The agreement sought to establish a unified, anti-Fascist trade-union centre. CGIL organized labour chambers and negotiated wages in areas liberated from Nazi-Fascist control. It also supported the establishment of the Italian Republic in the 1946 institutional referendum. At its first national congress in Florence in June 1947, CGIL reported more than 5.7 million members and elected Di Vittorio as general secretary. Political tension soon undermined unity. The organization called a general strike after the attempted assassination of Communist leader Palmiro Togliatti in July 1948. Christian-democratic trade unionists subsequently established a separate organization that became CISL in 1950, while secular and social-democratic members formed UIL. These divisions created the three-centre structure that has characterized Italian trade unionism since then. Di Vittorio's leadership combined industrial action with a broader development program. CGIL opposed the government's proposed electoral reform in 1953 and promoted the Work Plan, which proposed public investment, housing, land reclamation and nationalization of electricity. Anti-communist repression in workplaces and state institutions weakened the confederation, while the 1956 Hungarian uprising created a major internal and international controversy. Di Vittorio's condemnation of the Soviet intervention differed from the position of the Communist Party leadership. After his death in 1957, Agostino Novella became general secretary. The late 1960s brought renewed labour militancy. CGIL supported pension reform, participated in joint union events and became deeply involved in the workplace conflicts that culminated in the Hot Autumn of 1969. These struggles addressed pay, working hours, job classifications and control over work organization. The unions' pressure contributed to the Workers' Statute of 1970, which strengthened workplace rights and protections. Luciano Lama became general secretary in 1970 and pursued closer cooperation with CISL and UIL. Their 1972 Federative Pact established joint structures for coordinated action. The 1970s also saw union engagement with laws concerning divorce, maternity, family equality and abortion, as well as opposition to political violence during the Years of Lead. A bomb attack at a trade-union rally in Piazza della Loggia in Brescia in 1974 killed eight people and injured more than one hundred. Economic crisis, automation, industrial restructuring and unemployment subsequently reduced union bargaining power. The 1978 EUR Turn reflected an attempt to combine wage moderation with employment and development policies. In later decades, CGIL continued to operate as a national confederation representing workers in private and public sectors. Its work includes collective bargaining, organizing, legal assistance, social-security advice and political advocacy. It maintains international affiliations through the International Trade Union Confederation and European Trade Union Confederation and participates in the OECD's Trade Union Advisory Committee.
- 1972
Federative Pact with CISL and UIL
[1]The three confederations created joint structures to coordinate trade-union activity.
- 1970
Workers' Statute
[1]Parliament approved legislation strengthening workplace rights after sustained labour mobilization.
- 1950
Union split produces CISL and UIL
[1]Christian-democratic and secular-social-democratic factions left the unified organization and established the other two major Italian confederations.
- 1947
First national congress
[1]The first congress was held in Florence, where Giuseppe Di Vittorio was elected general secretary.
- 1944
Pact of Rome establishes CGIL
[1]Communist, socialist and Christian-democratic representatives created the postwar unified trade-union centre.
- 1926
Fascist destruction and dissolution
[1]Fascist blackshirts attacked the Milan headquarters, and the organization was dissolved under the dictatorship.
- 1906
Creation of the General Confederation of Labour
[1]Socialist labour activists founded the predecessor organization from which CGIL later developed.
Products and positioning
A broad, historically left-oriented labour confederation representing workers in collective bargaining and national social-policy debates.
Trade-union service
Collective bargaining
CGIL negotiates collective agreements at national, sectoral, company and local levels. Bargaining covers pay, working time, classifications, employment security, equality, health and safety and other employment conditions.
Trade-union service
Workplace representation
Through affiliated sectoral unions and workplace structures, CGIL represents employees in disputes, consultations, restructuring processes and negotiations with employers and public institutions.
Advisory service
Social and pension assistance
The wider CGIL network provides assistance relating to pensions, social-security entitlements, employment administration, tax matters and access to welfare services.
Controversies
Marketing campaigns
- 1978EUR Turn
Italy
CGIL, CISL and UIL endorsed wage moderation in exchange for public policies intended to encourage economic development and protect employment.
Outcome. The initiative reflected a strategic shift toward negotiated macroeconomic responsibility during a period of crisis and restructuring.
- 1969Hot Autumn labour mobilization
Italy
CGIL-affiliated unions participated in extensive industrial strikes over wages, working time, job classifications and worker control.
Outcome. The mobilization contributed to major contractual gains and the political conditions for the Workers' Statute.
- 1953Campaign against the electoral bonus law
Italy
CGIL organized general strikes against the proposed electoral law that would have granted a substantial parliamentary bonus to a coalition winning an absolute majority of votes.
Outcome. The campaign helped make the measure politically contentious; the proposed system did not produce the intended long-term change.
- 1950Work Plan
Italy
CGIL proposed a national program of public works, housing, land reclamation and public control of electricity production as an alternative development strategy.
Outcome. The government did not implement the plan as a whole, but it broadened CGIL's economic and social policy profile.
Brand decisions
1972
Coordinate with CISL and UIL through a federative pactStrategyBackground
The three major confederations had moved toward joint action during the labour militancy of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Action taken
Their general councils signed a pact creating a joint committee and secretariat.
Aftermath
The federation coordinated major union events through the 1970s before being dissolved after the 1984 dispute over the government's labour measures.
1944
Create a unified postwar trade-union centreStrategyBackground
Anti-Fascist parties sought a common organization to represent labour after the fall of Fascism.
Action taken
Communist, socialist and Christian-democratic representatives signed the Pact of Rome and established CGIL.
Aftermath
The arrangement created a powerful unified organization, but Cold War polarization led to the formation of CISL and UIL in 1950.
Sources2 sources
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