As spokesman for Reconquista Tutto. Reconquista Tutto is an internal minority stream of the main Italian trade union, CGIL, which denounces that companies are prioritising their health benefits and have not achieved them.

How is the health crisis affecting the working world of employees and businesses? What about the self-employed?

Workers are paying dearly. The measures taken from the outset by the Italian Government have been very contradictory and have been a great burden for those who are working. A great deal of effort is required for some, often without the minimum guarantees of safety. Especially those who work in essential services: health, transport services, sanitation and industrial cleaning, public services, food distribution.

Secondly, there are all those who work in sectors that have been suspended but have no guarantees of minimum income. These guarantees should come from extraordinary measures by the Government. They are not yet approved and, in addition, the resources communicated are not enough – EUR 3.5 billion –. Tourism and art, culture and entertainment sectors are among the first to have been suspended. They are central sectors in Italy, but the state invests very little and there is a lot of precariousness and a lot of illegal work. Many precarious workers have already lost their jobs and are in their homes without any subsidies. The same applies to many self-employed people: they are not small entrepreneurs, but very precarious workers, who have no guarantees to maintain their jobs or their incomes.

Finally, there are people who continue to work in non-essential sectors but not limited by the Government. Especially the manufacturing sector, which is the central sector in the northern areas most affected by COVID-19. They must continue to work, with the exception of exceptions, despite the fact that compliance with minimum security measures is not guaranteed – starting with the essentials: stay at home!–

The containment measures taken in Italy have gradually been tightened up. Since 8 March in the region of Lombardy in which you live and since 10 in the whole of Italy, the measures of confinement in homes, prohibition of activities and movements have already been in force. However, the same prohibitions do not apply to the production sector. Many workers have to go to their workplaces. Does each company decide?

It is truly incredible that so far not all the works that are not essential have been closed. This measure is necessary throughout the country, but above all in the northern regions, particularly in Lombardy. It is really incredible to give priority to economic benefits to the detriment of health and safety. Not only those who work – rightly feel sacrificial flesh – but the whole community. In fact, people who have to go to work are at risk of spreading the disease to the rest of the population.

Today, in Bergamo itself, the epicenter of the emergency, most of the major factories have not been shut down or, if they have, it will only last a few days – according to data published by La Republica, in a territory of about one million inhabitants, the disease has caused at least 385 deaths in the previous seven days. For example, the ABB, one of the largest factories in Bergamo producing electrical equipment, is still open, and workers are asked for extra hours.

The real contradiction is that the whole population should be told to stay at home, quite rightly, but that workers should then be forced to go to work. The problem is not only for factories – a country can continue for 15 days without producing screws or cars – but also for some service sectors: commercial distribution of food, transport of goods other than food, banking and insurance services... Without a government decree that suspends all these services legally, the closure is subject to the "good faith" of the company or of the union action.

And how is the situation in companies being managed?

A few days ago, following a number of spontaneous incidents by workers across Italy, governments, the three major trade unions (including my own, CGIL) and Confindustria (association of manufacturing companies) agreed rules for "working safely". These rules are not enough. Or, worse still, it is left to trade union representatives to verify compliance with the rules, which are largely unenforceable or verifiable – to ensure a minimum safety distance of one metre, to ban meetings, to use protective devices…. Masks and protective gloves are often lacking in key sectors, as well as in many hospitals, especially in the south. In factories, the situation is worse. Workers are afraid to continue working.

The situation of migrant workers is critical. People who lose their jobs risk losing the possibility of obtaining a residence permit. Before the coronavirus, these workers often can't get sick: they're threatened with dismissing if they do.

For all these reasons, I believe that today, throughout the country and as a matter of urgency, in Lombardy and in the most affected areas, all non-essential activities must be closed by decree. That is the only possible safety. If the government does not take this decision, it is clear that it is subject to the interests of companies that do not want to lose profits. The union is also afraid of the opposition.

We should go on strike to close everything that is not essential. The Government should close non-essential work, allocate resources to essentials and provide security guarantees to those who are obliged to work for the benefit of the community.

What is the situation in hospitals and among health workers?

In the field of health, the situation is even more dramatic. In the hospitals of Iparralde, the workers have remained in the trenches, one week after the other. The main problem is that in recent decades Italian public health has suffered constant cuts. Reduction of resources, beds and staff. For private medicine, or for the austerity cuts imposed by the European Union. Meanwhile, governments have been unscrupulous in allocating huge resources to military spending.

In these weeks a huge effort is being made by doctors and health workers with exhausting shifts beyond normal working hours. However, the goodwill of the workers is not enough. In the city of Bergamo, the sound of the ambulance sirens has become almost constant. Hospitals have exploded. The funeral cars are lined up in front of the city cemetery. It's dramatic, it would make you feel if I could. This happens in one of the richest and most industrialized areas of the country, where the attending physician probably works better. Think about what can happen if we reach these emergency levels in health centers, in areas of the country that normally cannot cope with everyday needs.

You are calling for measures to support the working class in the face of the consequences of the crisis.

The main demand is that all non-essential works be closed by decree and that as many resources as possible be devoted to ensuring the safety of essential works. In addition, we are calling for social security networks for workers who are going to carry out their periods of inactivity, maintaining their jobs and with pay coverage. The government has to develop extraordinary measures, as is the case in "natural disaster" situations. The resources allocated so far are inadequate and, in any case, have not yet reached the population as a whole. The government is talking much more about helping companies than about helping those who are working.

For workers, who are precarious and self-employed, measures must also be taken, as they are normally not entitled to redundancy funds and in many cases have lost wages and incomes. Some are claiming "quarantine revenue." I think it can be a useful measure for all those who are losing their jobs and salaries.

A reduction in the use of holidays should be applied: some companies have forced workers to enjoy their holiday days. We should work in this way in August, as the holidays have run out. Standards should also be developed to increase the number of sick days in order to avoid the risk of job losses per quarantine. And measures to extend parental leave.

On other occasions, crisis situations have been used to deepen the neoliberal agenda. Do you think that this situation will lead to further attacks on the working and vital conditions of the population?

After this emergency, the working class will have to face – once again! – the new counter-forms. Both in pensions and in salaries, because the economic slowdown is going to come. We will think about it later. Now, safety and health are the priority for those who are working and for the country. But let us not forget that they will try to make us pay the highest cost of what is going on.

The Basque Country is experiencing an evolution similar to that of Italy, but a little later. Both as regards the spread of the virus and the measures established by the State and the administrations. How is people's daily lives being?

The measures taken limit the freedom of movement and the normal socialisation of people: sports, cultural and recreational activities are closed. For those of us who are active, freedom to strike, mobilisation and political initiative are also limited.

I am concerned about this, but I recognise that I am more concerned about the lack of consistency in restrictive measures. If there is an emergency, I understand it and I can accept that my freedom be limited for the sake of the community, but I cannot accept that the factories remain open (a decree also invites the workers not to strike, because there is a health emergency in the country). Otherwise, there is a risk that any containment measures will be ineffective, as the worker continues to leave home and spread the infection. Furthermore, it is unfair.

Given that we are on a similar path, what can we learn from everything you are living?

I hope that it will be possible to limit the spread of the virus and never reach the emergency situation we are suffering today in Italy, especially in Lombardy. If this happens, ask them immediately for containment measures to be the same for everyone, because otherwise, as we have said, they are not only unfair, but also ineffective. And ask us right now to improve health infrastructures.

The classes closed almost immediately. Unfortunately, this was not a painful measure. Working people have had and continue to have problems organizing child care. This often affects women. And for many women, being at home is nothing reassuring: most violence against women occurs inside the homes and the "forced" coexistence can aggravate situations that are already in tension.

I don't know if we can teach anything. Now, the truth is that we are in an emergency situation and need more help than help. All of this I say with regret, and because I have a very strong feeling of helplessness: the situation is really heavy, especially here in Bergamo. In any case, I think I can give advice: do not underestimate what is going on.

With the same conviction, I ask everyone here, in Italy and in the rest of Europe not to forget that, very close to us, worse tragedies are happening. In particular, these days, on the border between Turkey and Greece. Despite our emergencies, we will not close our eyes and our consciences about what is happening elsewhere.