Italy’s Former Prime Minister and head of the 5-Star Movement (M5S), Giuseppe Conte, supported striking workers amid Europe’s automotive crisis.
Ten days ago we were in the square with the workers of the auto sector anguished for the future of the factories, of the companies, for their present made of solidarity contracts and redundancy payments at 1000 euros or less per month.
Conte accused the Italian government of cutting “the Fund for automotive policies by 4.6 billion to allocate the funds elsewhere, including defence.”
They go on TV to shout about environmental policies but they have no policies to propose to meet the needs of families and thousands of businesses struggling with the transition. They have no idea for the future and they do what this Government does best: cut. After 19 months of collapse in industrial production, they are signing the death warrant for the sector.
The auto industry crisis rocked the European market amid waning demand and China’s rivalry. Workers in Italy’s troubled auto sector went on a nationwide strike announced by the three main unions for the first time in 20 years. Earlier on Tuesday, Volkswagen and BMW workers went on strike in Germany.