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15 April, 2002The IMF general secretary says the government of Silvio Berlusconi is not telling the truth in its attempt to change Italian labour legislation.
GENEVA: In his support of the Italian unions' general strike, Marcello Malentacchi, the general secretary of the IMF, writes in his latest opinion column that when a government - no matter which way it leans - attempts to get rid of basic rights introduced into labour legislation, there is going to be a fight.
The government of Silvio Berlusconi wants to scrap Article 18 of the hard-won 30-year-old labour law (the Workers' Statute), which protects workers who have been dismissed from their jobs without just cause. Although the center-right government claims it wants to bring Italian legislation in line with the rest of Europe, Malentacchi suggests they take "a closer look at Article 30 of the European Union's Charter of Rights."
The struggle of the Italian unions "is ours", says the IMF general secretary. Go to the associated link to read the full text of his opinion.