Burials have stopped for a second straight day across Naples' eleven municipal cemeteries, as gravediggers continue a three-day protest over wages they say have not been paid since the summer.
The workers, employed by contracting cooperatives, say their last paycheck arrived in July. They have gathered in permanent assembly at the city cemetery area in Via Santa Maria del Pianto, suspending burials and exhumations while the mobilization continues.
The protest, organized by Cisl Fp, is scheduled to run from September 28 to September 30, 2026.
Coffins and urns waiting in storage
On the first day of the action, about thirty coffins and about sixty cinerary urns were being held in storage, according to Il Mattino. With burials and exhumations blocked, that backlog may have grown as the stoppage entered its second day.
Reports describe coffins held in depots and remains held in refrigerated cells while the assembly continues.
Why the workers stopped
The gravediggers work for cooperatives hired under contract, not directly for the City of Naples. Union and worker accounts reported by Il Mattino and Fanpage say cooperative employees have gone months without pay or have been paid with long delays.
According to the same sources, the City maintains that it pays the cooperatives regularly, pointing to a dispute between the contracting firms and their staff rather than a missed municipal payment. The research does not document a complete official statement from the administration with a final solution, nor does it identify all of the cooperatives involved or quantify individual arrears.
A recurring contracting dispute
Cisl Fp has called for the service to be internalized and entrusted to a city-owned company, arguing that direct municipal management would guarantee continuity and timely cemetery services.
The proposal reflects a broader issue behind the stoppage: burial operations in Naples depend on outsourced cooperative labor, so a wage dispute between cooperatives and workers can halt a sensitive public service across all eleven city cemeteries at once.
What this means for families
For families with funerals or exhumations scheduled during the three-day assembly, delays should be expected. Burials and exhumations are suspended for the duration of the mobilization, and coffins and ashes already received may remain in storage until operations resume.
Relatives should contact their funeral agency or the cemetery offices for updated scheduling, as the number of coffins and urns in storage was based on an initial count and may have increased during the protest. There is no confirmed information yet on whether back pay will be settled or operations will fully resume after September 30.