- Subscribe to PCF Networked Blog Daily Updates
- Subscribe to our Twitter / Google / Yahoo Daily Updates
 |
| Italians demonstrate outside the parliament building during a protest against tough austerity plans by the new government in Rome |
Two men have set themselves on fire in Italy over economic hardship and financial desperation, police officials say.
A 27-year-old Moroccan construction worker who had not been paid for months doused himself in gasoline and set himself on fire on Thursday in front of the city hall in the northern Italian city of Verona.
Police said the man is recovering in a Verona hospital and his condition is not life threatening.
In a similar incident on Wednesday, a 58 year-old businessman, angry over tax claims, tried to kill himself by setting himself alight outside a tax office in Bologna, 150 kilometers south of Verona. He is also being treated in hospital for severe burns.
The construction worker's self-immolation was a "symptom of the utter exasperation felt by the weakest employees," said Vincenzo Scudiere from Italy's General Confederation of Labor (CGIL) trade union.
Tough austerity measures, spending cuts and pension changes introduced by Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti’s government have stirred serious concerns for many people already grappling with the European country’s ailing economy.
Italians have been staging demonstrations to protest against high unemployment, economic adversity and the hardship triggered by the government-introduced labor reforms.
The government says the reforms are needed to create jobs, increase competition and cut costs in the third largest eurozone economy.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund says it expects the Italian economy to contract 2.2 percent this year, while the government has forecast a decline of around 0.4 or 0.5 percent.
(Press tv)
No comments:
Post a Comment