Workers march as general strike hits Italy
Tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out to protest the Italian government’s 2006 budget plan today, rallying in support of a general strike that snarled transport and closed down public offices across the country.
Demonstrators voiced anger at spending cuts worth billions of euros that Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right government has included in the budget plan as it struggles to contain its deficit amid sluggish economic growth.
Among the protests, theatres in several major cities were staging simultaneous evening performances of “requiem” funeral masses by Mozart, Verdi and Brahms, “for the announced death of all cultural activities” due to reduced arts funding.
The strike shut down post offices, banks and public offices for all or part of the day. School employees said they would walk out for an hour and hospitals were guaranteeing only emergency services.
In Rome, several thousand demonstrators with flags and placards marched through the centre of the city. Other large rallies were held in Milan, where labour unions said 100,000 people turned out, as well as Naples and Palermo.
Walking with the protesters in Rome, Piero Fassino, leader of the opposition Democrats of the Left party, complained that the government had “blocked the country’s growth and made Italians’ jobs precarious”.
“A wise government would listen to a strike by the citizens,” he said. “I don’t know if Berlusconi has this wisdom.”
Also marching was 28-year-old student and bookstore employee Nadia Croce, who said the budget measures were inadequate. “I’d like to see the government make decisions that improve the financial structure of the country – not the usual one-off measures,” she said.
The strike came a day after Berlusconi’s government approved a key reform to bolster private pension funds, but which would only come into effect in 2008.
Tonino Barocchi, a 45-year-old textile worker came to the Rome march dressed as Peter Pan “because we are living in Never Never Land”.
“It’s ridiculous to sign the (pension) accord for 2008 when it is needed for 2006,” he said.
Speaking at a local election campaign in Sicily, Berlusconi dismissed the demonstrations, saying the strike was “absolutely useless and part of a stale rite that has no effect”, according to comments reported by the news agency ANSA.
The strike is the second such protest against a budget in as many years. Berlusconi’s coalition faces general elections next year, with a vote expected in April, and government supporters dismissed the demonstration as an electoral ploy.
In most sectors and in most regions of the country the strike lasted four hours.
Italy’s national carrier Alitalia said it was cancelling 230 flights – 105 national and 125 international – and trains and ferries were also expected to be cancelled or delayed.
The government’s proposed 2006 budget includes some €20bn in spending cuts and revenue-raising measures.
Among these are €2bn of cuts in the social security costs that companies pay on their work force.
The government won a confidence vote in the Senate tied to the budget, but the measure is yet to be approved in the lower house.
Unions have staged many strikes during Berlusconi’s four-year-old centre-right government, crippling travel and public services over disputes ranging from government reform proposals to safety issues, corporate restructuring plans and contract renewals.
