Ex-Alitalia flight attendants strip off uniforms in protest
Dozens of former flight attendants from defunct Italian airline Alitalia stripped off their uniforms Wednesday, wearing only undergarments in a silent, choreographed protest in central Rome.
Italy’s decades-old airline flew its last flight on Oct. 14. A new airline, ITA, began flying the next day, using some of Alitalia’s aircraft. It is taking on fewer than 3,000 of Alitalia’s 10,000 employees. Union officials say those who will work for ITA are being hired at significantly lower pay scales.
Union leaders have been pressing for the government to extend unemployment benefits for as long as five years.