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NEWS & LETTERS, June 2004Our Life and Times by Kevin A. BarryFiat strike in ItalyIn May, workers at the Fiat plant in Melfi concluded a three-week strike that had shut down half of the company’s worldwide production. By the end of the strike, those production losses totaled some 40,000 vehicles. The ultra-modern Melfi plant, built a decade ago in an impoverished area of southern Italy, was known for its barracks-like discipline. Its 5,000 workers had received 9,000 disciplinary citations in the last several years. They had to work 12 days straight before getting a day off and their pay scales were 13% less than at other Fiat plants in Italy. Because the Melfi plant produced parts as well as vehicles, the strike soon impacted the rest of Fiat. At this point, police tried to break the picket line, but the Melfi workers held strong, supported by workers from other plants in the surrounding area. These local workers engaged in sympathy strikes, as did Fiat workers in northern Italy. The settlement established a new work schedule, whereby a six-day workweek would be followed by two days off, followed in turn by a four-day week. Several thousand disciplinary citations will be reviewed. Wages will gradually be raised to the same levels of other Fiat workers in Italy. In short, a victory. |
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