2026 begins under the banner of strikes. Today the protest by air transport workers, tonight and tomorrow it will be the turn of the railway sector, while next week it will be the turn of schools and public transport
“New year, old life”, to reinterpret the saying. In fact, 2026 begins under the banner of transport strikesin a January that promises to be full of protests. Today it’s the airlines’ turn, tonight and tomorrow the trains’ turn.
Aircraft strikes
Today’s protest which, as usual, takes place on Fridayinvolves air transport staff for the whole day. The 24-hour strike, proclaimed by the main trade unions, affects both flight and ground staff, with possible repercussions on hundreds of flights at Italian airports.
The reasons behind the protest mainly concern the working conditions of the staff, the renewal of national collective agreements and the requests for salary adjustments that take into account the inflation of recent years.
Trains also go on strike
Starting tonight at 9pm, and continuing through Saturday 11th January, it will be the turn of the railway sector. Also in this case it is a 24-hour national strike that will involve the staff of Trenitalia, Italo, Trenord and other regional railway companies.
Guaranteed trains will be limited to the minimum services required by law, but for the rest of the day travelers will have to expect significant inconvenience.
For railway staff too, the claims concern salary and regulatory issues, with particular attention to workplace safety and the need for infrastructure investments that can improve daily operating conditions.
On January 12th and 13th it is school’s turn
The coming week will instead see protests from the school worldwith a strike proclaimed for Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 January by the main trade unions in the sector. The protest will involve teachers, ATA staff and school managers of all levelsfrom kindergarten to high school.
The reasons for the mobilization are multiple. The unions are calling for a substantial increase in teachers’ salaries, to which is added the request for greater investments to reduce the number of pupils per class, guarantee the stabilization of historically precarious workers and improve school structures.
The strike on Monday 13 January could lead to the suspension of lessons in many institutions, with families called to organize themselves for the management of their children.
In Milan, a January of strikes in public transport
The Lombardy capital is preparing to experience a particularly complicated month of January in terms of urban mobility. After the unrest at the end of 2025, this beginning of the year also sees several local public transport strikes on the calendar which will affect the metro, buses and trams managed by ATM.
The first “appointment” is set for Monday 12 January, with Trenord staff who will stop for 23 hours (but maintaining the guarantee bands).
We then move on to January 15th, the day on which Cobas has called a strike by ATM employees. For the Milanese and for those who travel daily with the public service (for which they pay), a complicated month awaits.
2025 record year for strikes
The year just ended saw a truly heavy toll in terms of the number of strikes that crossed the country. According to official data, in 2025, a total of 1,482 were registered, of which 536 were actually carried out and 946 were canceled or deferred by the Guarantee Commission.
The transport sector confirms itself as the one most affected by the mobilisations, with 626 strikes called during the year, followed by healthcare with 235 calls. A phenomenon that has affected not only large urban centers but also provinces, effectively paralyzing national mobility on numerous occasions.
The consequences have mainly fallen on citizens, forced to deal with constant inconveniences in their daily lives, including missed appointments, delays at work and difficulties in planning travel and personal commitments.
Going on strike is a right, but the doubt that the motivations that drive the unions are more political than the fight for workers’ rights is creeping into more and more Italians.
