'20,000 attend metalworkers' rally in Rome'

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 18 - Approximately 20,000 people attended a demonstration organized in Rome by metalworkers' unions Fim-Cisl, Fiom-Cgil and Uilm-Uil together with a one-day strike for workers with Italian-French carmaker Stellantis and the entire automotive sector, organizers said at the rally in Piazza del Popolo.
    The leaders of Italy's three main labour unions Cgil, Cisl and Uil - Maurizio Landini, Luigi Sbarra and Pierpaolo Bombardieri - participated along with delegations of European and international labour unions and opposition members, including the leaders of the Democratic Party (PD) Elly Schlein and of the Five-Star Movement (M5S) Giuseppe Conte, among others.
    The leader of Cisl Sbarra denounced at the rally a "dramatic situation" in the automotive sector, "a lot of uncertainty regarding the present and fear in particular on the future", urging Stellantis to comply with "the commitment it has undertaken with the union and the government to relaunch the automotive line in our country, focusing resources, investments on new models, and increasing the productive capability" while "safeguarding jobs".
    Earlier on Friday, Cgil leader Landini denounced that "in Italy, we are producing 300,000 cars when we would have the productive capacity for 1.5 million cars", urging the "government to summon unions, Stellantis and vehicle components' producers to discuss an "overall strategic plan in Italy and in Europe".
    And Business and Made in Italy Minister Adolfo Urso said he "very much respected the unions demonstrating today" and would be summoning Stellantis the following day.
    "I am very close to unions and workers, they know", he said.
    According to data provided by the metalworkers' unions, in 2023 Stellantis produced in Italy a total of 751,000 vehicles, including 521,000 cars and 230,000 commercial vehicles.
    Over the past 17 years - between 2007 and 2024 - the production in Italy of Fiat cars (subsequently FCA and Stellantis) was slashed by nearly 70% from 911,000 to the 300,000 estimated this year, if the production trend will continue.
    Out of the 505,000 cars sold in Italy, less than half were produced in the country (225,000), the unions said. (ANSA).