Workers protest less than a week after relaunch
Flights on the newly privatised Alitalia were grounded yesterday due to industrial action, less than a week after its relaunch.
The flag carrier, given a new lease of life by the CAI consortium and Air France KLM, was forced to cancel 22 flights during the four hour strike.
Workers from the SDL union began the strike at 0900 GMT to protest against new labour contracts and employment policies drawn up as part of the relaunch.
A spokesperson for the SDL said cancelled flights included six to Europe and the Middle East.
A further 24-hour strike by SDL workers may be called, reports said.
Alitalia was recently rescued by CAI, a consortium of Italian businessmen, and Air France KLM which paid €323m for a 25% stake.
The deal with AF KLM ended a three month battle between the French-Dutch interest, Lufthansa and, to a lesser extent, British Airways.
Alitalia has since been merged with rival Air One, but with a reduced workforce and network.
Alitalia said it expected synergies of €720m over the next three years from network optimisation and revenue management.
www.alitalia.com
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