Italy began a week of strikes by the three biggest labour unions against Prime Minister Mario Monti's 33-billion-euro austerity package, which the government may soften slightly to meet some of their demands. Port, highway, and haulage personnel stopped work for three hours and metal workers - including those at carmaker Fiat - put down their tools for eight hours. Printing press operators stopped for a full shift and most newspapers won't publish on Tuesday.
Public transport strikes will be held on December 15-16. Bank employees will halt work for the afternoon of December 16, and the public administration will close down for a whole day on December 19. For the first time in six years of division, the three main union leaders shared a stage together when they spoke to striking workers in front of parliament. "We're not giving up on the idea that the austerity package must be changed," Susanna Camusso, chief of the largest labour group Cgil, told the crowd. "It hurts workers, pensions and the country as a whole," she said.
Monti failed to thwart the strikes during a last-ditch meeting on Sunday night with union leaders. Monti underscored the "extreme urgency" of his government to act to restore investor confidence amid a euro zone debt crisis, and said he was open to amendments as long as they can be fully funded, according to a statement. Union opposition will not affect parliamentary support for the package, Pier Luigi Bersani, secretary of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), said on Monday. The PD counts many union members among its supporters.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.