Tag: italy

First Greece and now Italy!

Thousands of workers, students, pensioners and the unemployed marched in heavy rain through cities across Italy on Friday to protest the government’s handling of the economic crisis.
A daylong general strike by Italy’s largest union curtailed services at hospitals and schools, shut down banks and post offices, while the demonstrations snarled traffic in Rome, Milan and other cities.
With Europe slipping into recession, anger over its economic woes has been bubbling over into protests and unrest across the continent.
Thursday’s strike was called a month ago by the CGIL union to put pressure on the conservative government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi.
In Rome, protesters waved unions flags and held up banners reading “united against layoffs” and “more jobs, more wages, more pensions, more rights.”
The government said the strike by the left-leaning CGIL was politically motivated and would further damage the economy, which has contracted for two consecutive quarters.