Tens of thousands of Italian metalworkers marched in Rome on Friday to protest a split in the union movement and a bid by the conservative government to introduce new labor laws.
Organizers said as many as 250,000 metalworkers, led by left-wing politicians Piero Fassino and Massimo D'Alema, took to the streets for the massive protest called by the mechanical branch of Italy's largest union, the communist-based Italian general Confederation of Labor.
PHOTO: AFP
Among them were assembly workers from Italian car-marker Fiat, as well as Ferrari and aeronautical group Alenia.
The CGIL called the protest over what it said was the decision of two others unions to break ranks on a long-standing collective deal with employers.
The Italian Labour Union, UIL, and Catholic centrist Italian Confederation of Workers' Unions (CISL), signed a new collective convention last July without the CGIL, whose leaders accuse the other unions of breaking workers' solidarity. The CGIL has a membership of four million.
Among the other politicians leading demonstrators, who converged in three large columns on St. John in Lateran square in Rome, were Fausto Bertinotti, head of the Refounded Communists and anti-globalization leader Luca Casarini. Marchers brandished banners attacking the centre-right government of Silvio Berlusconi, and placards accusing Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, of "knowing only how to steal" and of being the new "Il Duce", or leader -- a reference to wartime dictator Benito Mussolini.
They also protested new legislation announced by the government Thursday which hits at a long-standing trade union safeguard for sacked workers, Article 16 of the workers' charter. Italian manufacturers' association Confindustria welcomed the reform Thursday as "an important step towards flexibility," which would boost employment. Unions have said they will not let the matter rest there, and have scheduled a meeting tomorrow to discuss the legislation.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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