Rome, Nov 30 (IANS): Hundreds of thousands of workers in Italy staged an eight-hour strike, protesting against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's 2025 budget, rising living costs, and low wages.

The strike, organised by Italy's two main trade unions, the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) and the Italian Labour Union (UIL), involved workers from various sectors, excluding train staff, who had held a separate protest earlier this month, Xinhua news agency reported.

In response to an injunction from the Transport Ministry, workers in local transport, ferries, and airways sectors limited their stoppage to four hours instead of the planned eight, to minimise disruption.

Despite this, the strike saw significant participation, with organisers reporting around 70 per cent of workers in affected sectors joining the action. Italy's flagship airline, ITA, was forced to cancel 109 flights, including 18 international routes.

Mass demonstrations and rallies took place in at least 43 cities, including Rome, Milan, Turin, Bologna, and Naples, drawing an estimated 500,000 people, according to CGIL.

The strike was sparked by discontent over Meloni's draft budget law for 2025. The budget aims to address Italy's longstanding issues with high public debt, with a commitment to reducing the country's deficit to 2.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026.

However, this fiscal consolidation has limited the government's capacity for income-support measures, tax cuts, and other expansionary policies, fueling frustration among workers.