Italians protest at PM’s austerity moves, labor reforms

The 24-hour strike has been called by the main and biggest trade union Italian General Confederation of Labor (CGIL) to protest against cuts to public spending and job market reforms proposed by the premier.

Renzi has made proposals to change job protection rules which critics believe that it would prevent companies from hiring new staff, worsening the situation in the Eurozone's third largest economy.

The proposed reforms have drawn criticism from unions and left-wing members of Renzi’s own Democratic Party who say the proposals will undermine rights of workers and fail to do anything to address the root causes of economic stagnation for decades.

However, European policymakers have applauded the Italian prime minister's proposals.

On Friday, a national one-day strike was held in protest against the proposed reforms.

In a televised interview later on Friday, Renzi said that he respects the CGIL but the planned demonstration did not discourage him.

"The days when a street protest could block the government are gone. We won't budge a centimeter," he told the La7 channel.

A Press TV report says as the Italian public debt continues to grow exponentially, the European statistics agency has warned that it has reached nearly 134 percent of the country's gross domestic product in the second quarter of 2014.

Although official statistics indicate that the unemployment rate in Italy hovers over 12 percent, labor market experts insist that the situation is much more alarming.

Source: PressTV