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NEWS & LETTERS, December 2004Our Life and Timesby Kevin A. Barry General strike in ItalyFor the fifth time since 2001, when far-right Silvio Berlusconi became Prime Minister, Italian workers staged a nationwide general strike on Nov. 30. The four-hour stoppage involved more than ten million workers and 70 street demonstrations. The strike was called by all of Italy’s major union federations to protest a government budget that would mean 75,000 layoffs of state workers, tax cuts for the rich and upper middle classes, and nothing for poorer people or regions. Even some employers associations have denounced the budget. Berlusconi is notoriously corrupt and is being tried for bribing judges. In response, his parliamentary majority has passed a law curbing such prosecutions. Judges and prosecutors across Italy held a half-day strike on Nov. 25 to defend their hard-won independence from direct political control. |
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