Italy’s unions strike against austerity bill

Italy’s new government of technocrats faced the first serious challenge to its austerity package on the 12 December 2011 as the three main trade union federations launched a week of nationwide strikes.

Mario Monti’s government finds itself walking a tightrope between the demands of markets – which on the 12 December 2011 drove up the cost of Italy’s debt refinancing on disappointment with the European summit in Brussels on the 8-9 December 2011 – and what the Italian public was prepared to tolerate.

ESO: Background information: Italy ‘takes axe’ to pension system http://www.europeansources.info/record/italy-takes-axe-to-pension-system/

Corriere della Sera, 11.12.11: Monday’s Budget Strike Confirmed as Monti Warns Net Impact is Not Negotiable http://www.corriere.it/english/11_dicembre_12/strike_9a501c16-24bd-11e1-8d41-b588752759fb.shtml

Deutsche Welle, 13.12.11: Italian workers strike as parliament prepares for austerity vote http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15597020,00.html

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