16 Jan 2011

Fiat workers agree to longer hours

11:45 am on 16 January 2011

Workers at a Fiat car plant in Italy have voted to accept changes to working conditions, in a deal that could have widespread implications for industrial relations in the country.

The changes at the Mirafiori factory in Turin include longer hours, cuts in benefits and limits on strikes, the BBC reports.

Fiat's management described them as essential and had threatened to invest abroad if the deal was rejected.

Unions have called the deal shameful, saying it takes away workers' rights.