100,000 protest in Italy

More than 100,000 schools staff took to the streets of Rome last month as part of a one-day strike to protest against the government's plans for schools and to call for a pay rise, which has been blocked for 11 months.

The unions estimate that some 70% of those employed in schools came out on strike, although the government said it was only 38%.

The unions' concerns are the failure to agree a new contract, which should have come into force at the start of this year, government plans to reform the schools system, which they feel will lead to a two-tier structure, and, most recently, the budget for 2005 which includes a cut of 20,000 in the number of staff.