British Council staff in Italy strike over 80% workforce cut

Staff at the British Council in Italy will go on strike Thursday over proposed cuts that would eliminate approximately 80% of its workforce amid a funding crisis facing the organization.

Of 130 teaching staff across Rome, Milan and Naples, 108 are at risk as teaching activities in Italy face elimination, according to sources. The move would end 80 years of British Council English language teaching in Italy, part of its global mission to promote British culture and education.

Shocked staff plan to protest outside the British embassy in Rome, with a second strike scheduled for June 4.

The British Council, a key soft power institution founded in 1934 and operating in about 100 countries, is restructuring due to a £197 million government loan from the COVID-19 pandemic era. Agreed under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, the loan carries an annual interest of about £14 million and must be repaid by September, the organization said.

A source said the Italy operations had been “extremely badly hit.” The source added: “Everybody is very shocked, very upset, very sad, obviously also very angry as well.” The source noted that with the reduced presence, “it’s a very strong political message that Italy isn’t important.”

The British Council provides English language tuition for adults and children, as well as corporate and business classes. Its exams division is expected to continue under partners, and cultural events will remain, according to sources.

Chief Executive Scott McDonald has previously warned that the organization could “disappear” within a decade, harming the UK’s global standing and leaving a vacuum for Russia and China, unless the government intervenes.

According to Politico, an internal consultation document lists 784 jobs “in scope” across the UK and Europe, with at least 404 roles expected to be “displaced,” representing 15% of staff.

Consultations are also taking place in France, Spain and Portugal, sources said.

In October, McDonald told the Foreign Affairs Select Committee that the British Council was “nearly insolvent.” He said that despite 16 months of negotiations with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), progress had stalled and the organization remained in “real financial peril.”

The council’s three main income streams—teaching, exams and development contracts—account for 85% of turnover and have all faced pressure during and since the pandemic. The UK has reduced spending on development, and with the end of US development aid, fewer projects are available to win, McDonald told lawmakers.

The council also receives grant-in-aid from the FCDO, which last year totaled £162 million, making up about 15% of total income.

In an Instagram post, the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) said: “The British Council in Italy is about to lay off 108 out of 130 employees and masks this political choice of the British government behind an alleged corporate crisis.”

The CGIL added that the council is a “cultural institution, not a corporation,” established to promote “cultural and educational cooperation between the two countries. Firing more than 80% of the workforce deprives Italy of this opportunity.”

The British Council has been approached for comment.