Overview

• Unions and employer associations met at the labour ministry on June 21 but left without agreeing on a date to resume negotiations after Federmeccanica and Assistal refused guaranteed pay hikes
• Industry groups insisted on linking any wage increases solely to inflation data rather than granting the €280-per-month raise demanded by Fim, Fiom and Uilm
• The three unions vowed to continue their open-ended strike, reporting average participation rates of about 70% in factories across Turin, Bologna and Naples
• Labour undersecretary Claudio Durigon proposed banning walkouts on Fridays and Mondays during peak travel periods and requiring individual strike notices 24 hours in advance
• Bologna’s police authority announced criminal proceedings against roughly 10,000 protesters who blocked the tangenziale in violation of authorised routes under the Decreto Sicurezza