Italians strike against government plans

The three main Italian union confederations organised a general strike on 25 November directed at the government's financial plans for next year.

The unions are opposed to a whole series of government measures. These include cutting 100,000 jobs in public administration, reduced infrastructure investment, particularly in the poorer South, and new arrangements for the payments Italians receive at the end of their careers.

The three confederations, CGIL, CISL and UIL, jointly organised the action, involving a four-hour stoppage, extended to eight in some regions.

CGIL general secretary, Guglielmo Epifani, said the finance bill "goes against the development of the country", as it threatens the current "very timid shoots of economic recovery".

Savino Pezzotta of CISL accused the government of wanting the strike more than the unions. "There is a lot of talk of dialogue", he said, "but the truth is that, despite the requests and proposals made by the unions, there has been no answer".

UIL general secretary Luigi Angeletti accepted that the strike was a political protest, "but not because we have a prejudiced hostility towards the government". It is political "in the sense that it is against the government's economic policy", he said.

* Italy's metalworkers were also due to strike in support of their pay claim on 2 December.