CRI听力:Anti-austerity Strike Paralyzes Rome Transport

A nationwide 24-hour strike is taking place alongside large-scale protests in Rome.

It has paralyzed public transport and caused disruptions for commuters and travelers.

Italy is struggling to shake off a two-year recession and the Italian government is discussing a draft budget for 2014 that includes more government spending cuts and a continued freeze on public sector wages.

To protest against these proposed austerity measures in the budget, the Italian trade unions USB and COBAS jointly organized the strike.

The union organizers said the increasing budget cuts were strangling the economic recovery and the insufficient relaxation of tax burdens on workers will cause long-term damage to Italian workers.

"The government bill for the 2014 draft budget will trigger more problems and cause unemployment to spike. Our youth unemployment rate, which has reached 40 percent, has already been the highest in Europe and almost the same as that of the 1970s. Providing more support to the workers, instead of banks or financial institutions, is the only way out for us."

Transportation workers, steel workers, firefighters, civil servants and students were among the thousands of protesters.

Due to the strike, flights were canceled at Rome's main airport while trains and bus services were also affected.

"We already had plans, but now we've been waiting here for like 30 minutes for a taxi already. It's been a long wait for a taxi to the hotel, so it is a little bit inconvenient."

According to local media, more Italian trade unions are planning for strikes against the government's newly proposed budget later this month.