Italy has been severely impacted by the world economic crisis, and the government of Mario Monti has begun to implement far-reaching austerity measures, including tax hikes, cuts to social spending and a range of legal reforms that significantly aggravate the precarisation of employment relations. But while there have been a num- ber of local labour conflicts, a broad anti-austerity movement has yet to emerge. The article discusses a number of recent and ongoing protest movements and the challenges they face.