This morning at the 5th USL Congress, amid messages from European and global trade unions and greetings from the ILO, UIL and Unia, it was one of their own who brought the room to a standstill. Mattia Ceccoli recounted his battle to return to duty after an accident that cost him a leg — a battle in which, he said, USL had been «decisive». Then came the unscripted moment from Francesca Busignani.
A morning of tributes.
In a video message, ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch described a union that has grown steadily since 2008 and achieved tangible results. ETUC confederal secretary Giulio Romani skipped the Brussels demonstration to be in Dogana instead. UIL organizational secretary Emanuele Ronzoni spoke of «giant strides».
Renzo Ambrosetti, former co-president of the Swiss union Unia, credited concrete work for USL’s standing today as «the second-largest union in San Marino». Carmelo Barbagallo, former general secretary of UIL, closed the first part of the morning with a clarification: «All the success you’ve had belongs entirely to you».
The fight is to return to work — even in a different role — because being a police officer, Ceccoli said, isn’t just about «hands and legs», but «above all, about heart».
Current regulations don’t allow it. His, he explained, is the first case in San Marino’s history of an on-duty injury resulting in this kind of disability among law enforcement personnel — a «pilot case» that demands a change in the rules, «hoping there won’t be another ‘after’ for someone else».
USL, which he also thanked for its closeness — «above all, human closeness» — was «decisive» and will continue to be. He entrusted the rest to a single sentence: «I remember when I woke up from the coma, I didn’t look at what I was missing, I looked at what I still had».
Then the room responded.
After thanking Fabrizio Pregnolato for the blues notes that will accompany the congress, Francesca Busignani allowed herself an unscripted moment.
She has known Ceccoli since he was a boy and had already heard him speak on Monday at the Public Employment Federation congress. «It’s an emotion that comes from deep within,» she said, facing a young man who conveys «an incredible force of will, an impressive sense of duty».
All of us, she added, sooner or later close our front door and, standing before the mirror, sometimes find ourselves more overwhelmed than we thought. Hearing him speak this way, «to this family that is your family», helps turn something «truly terrifying» into «a drive to create something good».
She closed with these words: «You are a truly wonderful person».
After the break, the morning continues with remarks from other unions and employers’ associations — the very interlocutors Busignani had addressed on Wednesday evening. From 2:45 pm, the floor passes to the delegates.
