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Rome swamped by mass pension protest
Dec. 6— Hundreds of thousands of people, waving red flags
and blowing whistles, marched through Rome today to protest government
plans to reform Italy’s generous pension system, which economists
say can no longer sustain itself.
Organizers told the crowd they numbered more than a million, but there
were no official figures released from police.
Throngs of people, young and old from across the country, flocked into
central Rome and massed at the vast Piazza San Giovanni for a day of
protest.
Standing in front of a billboard reading “Defend your Future”,
union leaders and center-left opposition politicians demanded the conservative
government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi change course and scrap its
reform plans.
“After 30 months, this government has left the country poorer and
more divided,” said Gugliemo Epifani, leader of the largest union,
CGIL. “For this reason, people today are protesting.”
Economists have warned that with Italy’s ageing population and
declining birth rate, the country’s pension system will not be
sustainable in the future.
The government pension plan focuses on giving incentives to workers
who delay their retirement, starting from next year. Until 2008, however,
Italians will still have access to Italy’s current system which,
after 35 years of work, allows them to retire at 57years old.
Berlusconi has gone on prime time television to explain the reform to
the Italian people and why it is necessary.
The unions say the reforms aren’t necessary and insist Italy’s
system is perfectly sustainable.
“Berlusconi should listen to the piazza,” Epifani told the
crowd, which was a sea of red CGIL and other union banners.
Today’s demonstration was the latest in a series of protests and
work stoppages staged by unions in protest at the reforms. On Oct. 24,
a general strike crippled Italy after millions of workers stayed away
from work.
In 1994, when Berlusconi tried to reform the pension system during his
first government, 1 million people took to the streets in protest. Berlusconi
eventually backed down, but his attempt had already aggravated tensions
among coalition partners, and his government collapsed after eight months.
Savino Pezzotta, leader of the CISL union, warned Berlusconi to listen
to the protests this time around and change course.
“Today, we haven’t taken to the streets to make the government
fall, but to ask the government to change its tune and put new policies
in place,” he said.
Source: The Scotsman
Bush lifts steel tariff under pressure
from the WTO and EU
By Mary Giovanniello
Dec. 9 (AGR) -- Despite pressure from 20,000 steelworkers on
the nation’s streets last Saturday, petitions carrying over 100,000
signatures, as well as a bi-partisan effort by many state- legislatures,
mayors and bi-partisan governors, President Bush lifted the steel tariffs
that he imposed 20 months ago.
The decisions came in the wake of a WTO ruling that declared the tariffs
were illegal. The European Union said that if the tariffs were still
in place five days after the WTO decision they would impose harsh import
tariffs targeted at many steel producing states in the US.
The tariffs were put in place to help ease steel industry troubles due
to massive overproduction in other countries that made it too difficult
for US steel industries to compete .The president’s statements
to the country say the tariffs, which were supposed to be in place for
16 more months, were a safeguard measure that have had their effect
and are no longer needed.
The United Steel Workers of America (USWA) have issued statements that
the industry is not stabilized and that the president should have stood
by his trade agreements. USWA president LeoW.Gerard said “In his
rush to appease the Europeans and Japanese, Mr.Bush willfully ignored
the fact that damage to the American steel industry and American steel
communities continues to this day even with the tariffs in place.”
Gerard further commented that Bush’s unwillingness to defend US
trade laws is an affront to all US workers but especially to workers
at the companies that have gone bankrupt since the steel tariffs were
inacted. The steel workers are also concerned for the retired employees
of liquidated steel companies that have lost and are losing their insurance
and benefits.
The USWA is not ready to give up ,their spokesman Gary Hubbard said
today.There was a bill presented yesterday that has 49 congressional
sponsors and asked for reinstatement of the tariffs. The USWA also condemned
the administration’s refusal to challenge the WTO’s decision.
They say the tariffs were challengable under section 129 of US trade
laws where the decision would have been deferred to the International
Trade Commission. The presidents decision Dec. 2 closes the door on
that section 129 option, according to the USWA. The US steel chairman,
and other US steel industry CEO’s were also pushing for the president
to challenge the WTO decision.
“It is deeply disturbing,” Gerard said, “that the president
was unwilling to stand down the Europeans, because steel is just the
canary in the shaft mine. Failure to stand by our trade laws will throw
open the door for more American manufacturing jobs to take a hit, on
top of the 2.4 million that have already been wiped out.”
The decision has been broadcast throughout the world but there has been
little coverage of the voices of the USWA. When asked to comment on
the media attention the decision has received, USWA spokesman, Gary
Hubbard said the editorials of the “corporate media have been that
they are universally cheerleaders for the president and foreign investors.”
He called the coverage a fantasy out of touch with reality.
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