6,000 Italian Security Personnel March in Rome for Pay and Pensions

Around 6,000 members of Italy's armed forces and security services marched through Rome on Saturday to demand higher pay, better pensions and stronger workplace protections, Euronews reported. The demonstration brought together representatives of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza.

It marked the first joint protest organised by the country's main defence and security unions.

The rally followed the government's renewal of the collective agreement covering around 430,000 military and security personnel just days earlier. The agreement provides a gross monthly pay rise of €188, a one-off back payment of €2,448 and a commitment to open talks on pension reform. Sinafi, the New Carabinieri Union (NSC), Usami Aeronautica, Itamil and Silmm refused to sign the deal.

These unions organised the protest, arguing that the economic terms did not meet expectations. Protesters marched under the slogan "Every day we serve Italy. " In a statement ahead of the rally, the unions listed four main demands: reform of the supplementary pension system and an end to plans to raise the retirement age to 65, stronger legal protections, pay increases aligned with living costs, and greater investment in recruitment and training.

NSC secretary-general Massimiliano Zetti said the refusal to sign stemmed from the failure to deliver promised economic benefits. "Because inside those uniforms working for the state, under the state's emblem, there are not silhouettes, there are families, there are people, women and men who work. It is only right that they should be paid fairly.

Security has a cost," he said. The protest ended with a conference on the future of Italy's security, defence and emergency services, attended by representatives of several unions including the NSC.