Reuters reported that hundreds of Alcoa workers marched through Rome in protest at plans to mothball two smelters in Italy, after the US aluminium giant said it needed written assurances from Brussels before reconsidering.

As per report, about 700 workers from Alcoa's plants at Fusina near Venice and Portovesme on the Island of Sardinia marched to Italy's parliament ahead of a meeting between company executives, the centre-right government and trade unions.

The closure of the two plants, which employ some 2,000 workers, has made headlines at a time when Italy is slowly recovering from its worst downturn since World War Two, amid signs its industrial exports are becoming less competitive against Asian competition.

Unemployment in Italy rose to 8.5% in December, the highest since monthly records began in January 2004. That figure hides the fact that Italy has one of the lowest workforce participation rates in the industrialised world: only 22 million people from the 60 million population are in work.

(Sourced from Reuters)