Italian unions warn government over austerity plan

Italian unions on Saturday warned the government of Prime Minister Mario Monti that it must better address social concerns in its austerity programme that was passed by the Senate this week. "We suggest that the government handles phase two better than phase one, by speaking with social partners," Susanna Camusso, the secretary of the CGIL union, told a union meeting. "The game is not over on the pretext that there has been a vote of confidence" in the government austerity measures, she said. "If we don't want 2012 to be full of problems and unemployment, the government must confront reality... if it thinks it can continue as is, it will find obstacles," she said. In a joint statement, the CGIL, CISL, UIL and UGL unions deplored "not having found in the austerity plan a trace of structural reform needed for growth," adding that employment taxes must be reduced. On Thursday, Italian senators gave their approval to austerity tax increases and pension reforms in a bid to avoid bankruptcy for Italy, the eurozone's third-largest economy, amid a looming recession. Monti's programme, which includes savings of around 20 billion euros ($26 billion), has angered trade unions but protests have been half-hearted and many Italians are resigned to the need for sacrifices to avoid a catastrophe.