Fiat workers stage demonstration

Several thousand employees of Italian carmaker Fiat staged a demonstration in Turin on Saturday aimed at preserving their jobs. The left-liberal daily La Repubblica comments: "Taken together the Fiat affair and the OECD statistics [which put Italy at the bottom of the table as regards wage levels] tell us that the low wages of millions of workers represent a national emergency that could have far-reaching and profound consequences if the Fiat situation does not improve. … Confronted with an emergency which requires epic interventions on the scale of a Roosevelt-style New Deal, it is still not clear where the government stands on this matter. … But the confederation of industries is also busy sawing off the branch it sits on, … for instance by considerably restricting research and development activities: In this area too, Italy has been lagging way behind for some time now."

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