SHOTLISTrn1. Various of pensioners in Piazza del Popolo, at demonstration arranged by leftist General Confederation of Labour (CGIL)rn2. Til...
SHOTLISTrn1. Various of pensioners in Piazza del Popolo, at demonstration arranged by leftist General Confederation of Labour (CGIL)rn2. Tilt up from placard reading (Italian) "Hands off Italy", to caricature of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconirn3. Protesters holding bannersrn4. Protesters watching speech of CGIL union leader Susanna Camusso on giant screenrn5. Wide of stage, UPSOUND (Italian), Susanna Camusso, leader of CGIL union: rn"If the government would have done what was needed in time, maybe today we were not the ones who have to ask Germany and France for instructions, but we could have been together with Germany and France, deciding which Europe we want to build."rn6. Zoom out from pensioners holding flagrn7. Tilt down of banner reading (Italian) "Pensioners pay the decrease of pension's purchase power, families pay higher prices, honest people pay, the weaker people pay"rn8. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Pietro Marchionni, Retired worker from shoes factory: rn"The government is just trying to gain time, they will not be able to stick to their commitments, they are not able to govern anymore."rn9. Protesters waving flagsrn10. Tilt up from placard reading (Italian) "The government wants to force us to work until the age of 70", to demonstratorrn11. Wide of demonstrators listening to speechrn12. Placard reading (Italian) "Berlusconi resign"rn13. Various of demonstratorsrnSTORYLINErnThousands of protesters gathered in a central square of Rome on Friday, demonstrating against the austerity measures presented by Silvio Berlusconi's government and the recent changes to Italy's pension scheme.rnBerlusconi and his ally, Northern League leader Umberto Bossi, reached a compromise on raising Italy's retirement age in late-night parliament talks on Tuesday, a point of disagreement that had threatened Berlusconi's leadership. rnAccording to Italian media the measures include new infrastructure spending, with a push for more private investment for strategic projects, the privatisation of public entities and property and simplifying rules for companies.rnChanges to Italy's pension scheme had become a major sticking point, with Bossi's party refusing to risk alienating its constituency of workers fromrnthe productive north.rnUnder the deal, Italy will gradually raise the pension age for all workers to 67 by 2025, bringing it in line with European trends. rnCurrently, Italian men retire at 65 along with women in the public sector but some women in the private sector retire earlier.rnAccording to Susanna Camusso, leader of leftist General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), the main Italian union, the government led by Silvio Berlusconi is taking instructions from other European countries whereas it should have done serious economic reforms much earlier.rn"If the government would have done what was needed in time," said Camusso during her speech in piazza del Popolo,"maybe today ... we could have been together with Germany and France, deciding which Europe we want to build."rnAccording to Camusso and many opposition parties, Italian government should tax properties and those who have more assets instead of cutting public expenditure, social assistance and raising retirement age.rnThe European Union had asked for measures, with a clear calendar for implementation, to promote growth, raise the pension age and simplify civilrnlegal proceedings to encourage foreign investmentrnItaly is seen as the next country at risk in the widening sovereign debt crisis, but with 1.9 (t) trillion euros (2.6 (t) trillion US dollars) in public debt, an Italian default would be disastrous for the global economy. rnThe European Central Bank for months has been buying (b) billions in Italian bonds to help keep borrowing costs down.rnClients are reminded: rnrnrnYou can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/de5cf96ece6beeb8e58f2606b572ede0 rnFind out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Less
