Musk's demand for Italian NATO base reports sparks union outcry
Italian employees at the NATO base in Aviano received a directive from Elon Musk's department to submit weekly work reports. As reported by the newspaper "Il Messaggero," they were asked to explain whether they are actually necessary. Trade unions are protesting.
As explained by the newspaper "Il Messaggero," this concerns Italians working in the local commercial area – firefighters, school staff, and the entire support staff of the NATO base. Similar to the Americans stationed there, Italian citizens were given the task by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to describe their professional activities in the last week in five points. The reports are to be sent every Monday.
Unions oppose Musk's demands
Submitting weekly reports is part of Musk's department strategy that requires federal employees to justify their work. The task directed at the staff of the US-administered base in Aviano met with an immediate reaction from Italian trade unions.
“We immediately demanded explanations,” said union activist Angelo Zaccaria. The unions highlighted that Italian employees should not be subject to the same rules as Americans, as their contracts are based on national legislation.
The base's public affairs office quickly responded to DOGE's demand, assuring that Musk's directive should not apply to Italian employees. However, before this assurance reached them, some employees had already replied to the emails.
The unions have announced that they will demand the matter to be fully clarified at the national level to ensure that Italian workers do not have to meet American requirements.
