Italians strike against gov't policies

Italians strike against gov
# 25 October 2014 19:43 (UTC +04:00)
Baku-APA. Around one million people, according to organizers, took to the street in Italy's capital Rome on Saturday to protest against the economic policies carried out by the government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
The rally gathered workers and students from all over Italy and was called by the country's largest labor union CGIL to especially oppose a labor law proposed by the government which is going through parliamentary process for final approval.
The law is aimed at making the Italian job market smoother, but according to CGIL it would significantly reduce job protections for new employees.
In particular, the reform would change a regulation that presently makes it difficult for companies with more than 15 employees to fire workers with open-ended contracts.
"Italy cannot overcome the economic crisis by punishing the labor market," the CGIL head Susanna Camusso said in her address to the rally.
"The Italian Constitution says that the State must help those citizens who are weaker and not advantage the stronger ones," she stressed, calling the government's policies unfair and harmful for social stability.
CGIL was also opposing the 36-billion-euro (46 billion U.S. dollars) budget for 2015 passed by the government, which includes adjustments aimed at boosting the Italian stagnant economy.
"We are tired of a government which despite many good words in fact is continuously raising the taxes for poor people," a man told Rai State television while protesting in Rome.
"We hoped that a center-left government would help build a harmonious environment between employers and employees, but this is not what is happening," a woman said.
A small number of so-called dissident members of the Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) participated in the rally, which had been planned for several weeks.
On the same day, Renzi attended the Leopolda, an annual meeting that he launched in 2009 to bring leaders and entrepreneurs together to discuss the future of their country.
Renzi and his party allies reaffirmed the government's firm belief to "change Italy" through courageous structural reforms.
The 39-year-old former mayor of Florence, who became the youngest-ever prime minister in Italy in February after campaigning to put aside the senescent ruling class, said on Saturday that he was willing to remain in power for two legislatures, "at most until 2023."
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THE OPERATION IS BEING PERFORMED