Hot Autumn

The Hot Autumn (Italian: Autunno caldo) of 1969–70 is a term used for a series of large strikes in the factories and industrial centers of Northern Italy, in which workers demanded better pay and better conditions.

The decrease in the flow of labour migration from Southern Italy had resulted in nearly full employment levels in the northern part of the country, meaning that the workforce there now had the leverage to start exercising its influence.

[1][page needed] The reasons for discontent varied - while the usual demands for better pay and working conditions were a factor, the tensions were also increased by the fact that much of the workforce had migrated from the much poorer South.

They were generally unhappy at the society that had forced them to leave their homes in search of work, and wanted to get back at the employers who, in their view, had been exploiting them with lower than average wages for so many years.

The period known as the "Hot Autumn" in Italy began in the summer of 1968, which saw a series of strikes as workers demanded a flat-rate pay rise.

The issues of the "Hot Autumn" can also be tied to the Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori (Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions, or CISL).

The "Hot Autumn" protests started at the university, but their transition to the industrial stage pointed out the weak governance of the first republic, for economic policies were ineffective and sparked many of the frustrations of the blue-collar working class.