Italian prime minister Mario Monti said this evening that trade unions and employers had given their support to most of his government's plans to reform the labour market, but the largest union, the left-wing CGIL, had rejected its proposals to ease firing restrictions.
Speaking to reporters after a three hour meeting, Mr Monti said he had obtained "broad overall backing".
He said he would no longer negotiate with the CGIL.
"The CGIL dissented on Article 18, but on this matter the question is closed," he said in reference to an article of the labour statute which offers strong protection against firing and which he wants to change. Nonetheless, he said, he was "worried" by the dissent from the CGIL.
Mr Monti said at a news conference that he would explain to Italy's international partners how the reform will make the country's labour system "more modern" and more attractive to foreign investors.
In a surprise move, Labour minister Elsa Fornero said the changes proposed to Article 18 would affect all workers as soon as they are approved by parliament, not just new hires.
A deal on labour reforms will determine whether Mr Monti can push through the kind of far-reaching changes to the economy needed to restore growth and reduce Italy's crippling burden of public debt.
Mr Monti (69) has already won acclaim at home and abroad for taking action where his billionaire predecessor Silvio Berlusconi had, in the eyes of many, offered little more than rhetoric and distraction.
At the head of a government of technocrats installed with the approval of European Union partners - and Italy's creditors - Mr Monti has already forced through a €33 billion austerity package to try to stop the rot in public finances.
He has made Italians swallow sharp cuts in future pension provisions and done away with a swathe of regulations on service businesses.
Reuters