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Italian Government, Unions Meet As Alitalia Workers Countinue Protests

Posted on: Thursday, 26 January 2006, 09:00 CST

Italian government, unions meet as Alitalia workers countinue protests

ROME, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Italian government officials and the country's labor leaders met on Wednesday in an attempt to resolve a dispute which has grounded hundreds of Alitalia flights at a time when the airline is struggling to survive.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's top aide and several ministers sat down at the premier's office early on Wednesday afternoon to discuss a settlement to the workers' protests at Rome's Leonardo Da Vinci airport against the company's restructuring plans.

Alitalia workers have gathered at the airport since Monday to voice their opposition to a range of measures including redundancies.

The crisis talks were held after the ailing airline warned travelers that more than 200 flights risked being canceled on Wednesday.

Representing workers at the talks were the heads of Italy's three main nationwide labor confederations.

Among the participants in the discussions were Berlusconi's right- hand man, Cabinet Undersecretary Gianni Letta, and Labor Minister Roberto Maroni, who has warned that the government refuses to bail out Alitalia.

Maroni had said on Monday that the government is unable to lend a hand in the company's crisis, as the European Union refuses to allow the government to bail out the airline.

In another, unrelated labor dispute, a 24-hour train strike is scheduled to begin on Thursday evening.

As an election campaign for the premiership is heating up, pressure is building on the government to get Alitalia staff back to work.

But in an interview earlier on Sky TG24, Berlusconi denounced the unions.

"Citizens should know that if they are camped out in the airport it is the fault of unions," he said.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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