"Workers paralyze Italy's city streets and skies," was the headline of a Reuters news release filed from Rome that day. Metalworkers marched through the streets of a number of cities throughout the country, while strike action by air traffic controllers and some Alitalia fight attendants and pilots virtually shut down air travel.

Officials from the several unions representing metalworkers estimated that 250,000 workers participated in the protests. Metalworkers represent the largest number of Italy's 5.5 million unionized workers--46 percent of all wage contracts negotiated at the national level--who have yet to reach agreement on pay scales for this year.

For many workers wage increases have trailed price rises over the past two years in Italy. Since 1993 workers have received only minimal raises as a result of a "wage moderation" accord signed with the government that year and renewed in 1998.

In Milan, an estimated 60,000 members of the metalworkers' union FIOM marched through the streets with banners demanding better pay.

In Turin, the headquarters of many of Italy's largest industries, more than 30,000 workers halted work at several major plants, including the Fiat automobile group. Similar marches were held in Rome, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, and several southern cities, including Palermo in Sicily.

Air traffic controllers from CILVA-AV and other unions stopped work for 10 hours, while flight attendants and pilots stayed off the job for eight hours. Alitalia reported that 342 flights, 76 percent of the national carrier's total schedule, were cancelled. Dozens of other flights by other airlines into the country were also halted.

This was the first major labor action since the rightist government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi came back into office following the May 13 national election. During his campaign the billionaire businessman promised to create 1.5 million jobs over five years and to increase the minimum pension level.

A Reuters dispatch noted, "Business-friendly Berlusconi is keen to avoid the kind of worker unrest that disrupted his first stint in office in 1994, when more than 3 million people took to the streets to protest against planned pension reform. His government fell after just seven months."  
 
 
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