Cristiano Ronaldo’s £100million move to Juventus has caused an Italian trade union to announce Fiat workers will go on strike.
Juve are owned by the holding company Exor, which also owns Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and CNH Industrial (CNHI). Exor is controlled by the Agnelli family.
There have been talks that Fiat will fund some of Ronaldo's £500,000-a-week wage packet which has prompted a major response from the Unione Sindicale di Base (USB), which has said workers at a plant in Melfi will go on strike between July 15 and July 17.
A statement from the USB reads: ‘It is unacceptable that while FCA and CNHI workers continue to make huge economic sacrifices, the company then spends hundreds of millions of euros on the purchase of a player.
‘We are told it's a difficult moment, that we need to resort to social safety nets, waiting for the launch of new models that never arrive.
‘And while the workers and their families tighten their belts more and more, the company decides to invest a lot of money on a single human resource!
‘Is this right? Is it normal for one person to earn millions, while thousands of families can't even get to the middle of the month?
‘We are all employees of the same owner, but in this moment of enormous social difficulty, this difference in treatment cannot and must not be accepted.
‘The Fiat workers have made the company's fortune for at least three generations… and in return, they have only ever received a life of misery.
‘The company should invest in car models that guarantee the futures of thousands of people rather than enriching only one.
‘That should be the objective, a company that puts the interests of their employees first. If it isn't, it's because they prefer the world of games, entertainment and everything else.
‘For the reasons described, the Unione Sindacale di Base has declared a strike at FCA Melfi between 22:00 on Sunday, July 15 and 06:00 on Tuesday, July 17.'
This article was most recently revised and updated 5 years ago
