"When I heard the news yesterday, I was on my way to work. I just checked in with my lawyers, but this morning I had the chance to read everything calmly. From today, I can start rejoicing." Stefano Puzzer, the Trieste dockworker who became the national leader of the No Green Pass protests, is elated after the Court of Cassation upheld his appeal against his dismissal from the Trieste Port Employment Agency, which occurred on April 16, 2022.

As head of the CLPT port workers' union, Puzzer had called for an indefinite protest starting October 15, 2021, in front of Gate IV of the port against the introduction of the Green Pass in the workplace. Unexpectedly, the protest tapped into a broader protest movement, attracting anti-Green Pass and anti-vax protesters in Trieste and drawing thousands of people from various regions. Even violent fringe groups emerged.

The protest spread to other ports and, in Trieste, caught by thousands of protesters, partly moved from Gate 4 to the heart of the city, Piazza Unità. Gate 4 was cleared on October 18th with the use of water cannons. Puzzer, who had self-suspended himself for several months, became the spokesperson and leader of the protest, whose spirit was summed up in the slogan "People like us never give up." Yesterday, he announced his "victory" in the Supreme Court.

"I thank my family and lawyers Mirta Samengo and Alessandra Devetag for their extraordinary work and for having had faith in me from the beginning. Only thanks to them have we achieved this result." The Court of Cassation upheld the appeal filed by the dockworker, annulling the dismissal ordered by the Trieste Court of Appeal. Any reinstatement by the Trieste Port Employment Agency will be decided by the Court of Appeal of Venice, which has jurisdiction.

"The new ruling should arrive within three months," Puzzer explains, "and then I'll decide what to do. Would I like to return to work in the port of Trieste? I can't say; it's premature. The port has certainly been like a family to me for many years, something I've always loved dearly, but in the meantime, I've had to roll up my sleeves and look for something else . So far, I've mostly found seasonal work, precisely because I've been waiting to see how things unfolded. I've had several opportunities, and I still have them, so right now, I don't know what my future holds."

Meanwhile, he continues to work as a kitchen assistant at a restaurant in Muggia (Trieste), and also as a caretaker at a campsite in the same town. News of the Supreme Court ruling sparked a wave of messages and expressions of support from those who have followed Puzzer's battle for years: "So many people have written to me from all over Italy, so many. But," he says, "the greatest satisfaction is having fought to defend my rights and succeeded to the very end. I hope this serves as an example to others, to never give up. Even though it took a long time to achieve this result, it is a priceless joy."

(Unioneonline)

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