by John Phillips
ROME
As many as 1 million people, many of them waving red flags, rallied in Italy's capital Saturday to protest Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's Jobs Act package of tough labor market reforms, trade union officials said.
The rally was called by Italy's largest, former communist trade union federation, whose fiery leader Susanna Camusso poured scorn on Democratic Party Premier Renzi's claim that abolishing Article 18 of the existing labour legislation protecting workers against unfair dismissal would help to ease Italy's ballooning unemployment rate.
"Article 18 is not an ideological totem pole but concrete protection" for workers, Camusso told hundreds of thousands of demonstrators who congregated in the vast Piazza San Giovanni Square after arriving by train and coach from across the peninsula.
Camusso pledged the union federation will step up protest agitation against the Jobs Act to climax with a general strike. "Nobody, not even this Government, can silence the voice of the worker," she said. The rally was attended by a handful of dissident politicians from Renzi's Democratic Party, the former Italian Communist Party that previously was the largest Marxist party in the West.
Renzi declined to back down on his legislation, however, saying "I respect trade unions but a rally is not going to stop us."
More than 1,000 police officers were drafted in to prevent incidents at the rally but no violence was reported as the throng dispersed from San Giovanni and snaked past the Colosseum.
Among the dissidents present was Democratic Party member of Parliament Gianni Cuperlo who ran unsuccessfully against Renzi in the primary to become party secretary a year ago. Cuperlo said in his blog that he was joining the union marchers not to protest as such but to listen to the workers and always to urge my government to make more and better reforms,"
Cuperlo has organized a group of left-leaning party minority members, dubbed Sinistradem, who are opposed to the Jobs Act changes affecting Article 18 of the existing labor legislation that protects against unfair dismissal.
In a post Friday on its website, Sinistradem said that a number of party members have signed an appeal to uphold Article 18 and will reinforce that message Saturday. "We'll be there to push the government and Parliament to keep and to enhance Jobs Act and Law stability," read the post.
Meanwhile, the head of the youth branch of major employers group Confindustria said the union rally was of no value and that workers would do well to collaborate with the government.
"We bet on our future, and on a government taking urgent action," said Marco Gay, head of the group representing employers younger than 40.
"We are convinced that, instead of taking to the streets to defend ideologies, they could cooperate with us to defend employment," he said.
Gay added that unions should consider a new phase of discussions with business.
A national transport workers' strike on Friday disrupted commuters as protesters wound through the city's historic centre. Rallies were also held in other major Italian cities by transportation workers belonging to trade unions protesting budget cuts announced earlier in the week.
www.aa.com.tr/en
