Italian Strike Wave Continues

One million metal and machine-building workers employed by privatelyowned enterprises started a three-day nationwide strike on June 21st, while 150,000 state-employed workers from the wame trade, who had also staged a similar strike the week previous, resumed their struggle through intermittent alternating strikes, For six months the metal and machinebuilding workers have been demanding the safeguarding of their trade union rights, higher wa,es and shorter working hours, and end to work speed-up. A six-day strike was started on June 20th by the assistant professors in all Italian universities, They demanded more funds for their departments . and reform of theuniversities, Meanwhile, nationwide strikes for the renewal and improvement of collective agreements are being held by 40,000 confectionery workers, 80,000 kilnmen, 70,000 quarrymen, while the ground crews of state-owned airline ‘Alitaliat are still continuing their intermittent alternating strikes. On June 22nd about 40,000 war cripples and invalids from all over Italy staged an anti-government demonstration in Rome, demanding hisher pensions. After a meeting on Republic Square, the demonstration held a march to parliament, On June 24th Italian workers of all trades began a two-day general strike in the port city and province of lrieste, protesting against the government's planned closing of the state-owned shipyard 'San iarco', the main enterprise in lrieste. They staged a procession along the main streets of the city. This plan to close down the shipyard was worked out by the Italian government in compliance with tue dewand of the turopean Economic Community and the interests of ‘ monopoly concentration,