(5 Jun 2009)
1. Wide of Fiat workers dressed in red and carrying flags approaching Fiat headquarters, pan right, tilt up to building
2. Mid of workers waving flags and shouting
3. Man shaking locked door of Fiat building
4. Close-up of man shaking door
5. Mid of sign on building, pan down to workers in front of door
5. Close-up of worker shouting
6. Workers pressing door bells of Fiat management offices, zoom in
7. Close-up of workers' fingers pressing door bells
8. Wide of demonstration
9. Mid of workers listening to Martin Villams, member of Fiat union in Belgium, speaking on megaphone
10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Martin Villams, member of Fiat union in Belgium:
"Last week workers of the company, they occupied the garage there for one full week, and the only response from the company was a judicial response and a few workers were dismissed for, were dismissed for serious fault. And that's very unacceptable for the whole union movement. If you can be dismissed for serious fault just because you take part in social action then you don't any more have any right for collective action and collective bargaining."
11. Close-up of workers pushing door
12. Wide of banner
13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Martin Villams, member of Fiat union in Belgium:
"So our message to Fiat, to the company, is to the group. It's a European group, it's a very important group, they have big ambitions in Europe, they try to take over Opel, so they must abide to the rules of the social dialogue."
14. Wide of Fiat headquarters, tilt down to workers
STORYLINE
Hundreds of Fiat workers in Belgium held a protest outside the company's headquarters in Brussels on Friday.
They were demonstrating against the sacking of five of their colleagues who last week took over a sales garage in a protest demanding higher wages.
The workers attempted to force their way into the building but were prevented by steel doors.
Some workers rang the doorbells to the senior management offices but received no response.
The demonstrators carried red flags and banners and chanted slogans as they blocked the building's entrance.
None of company management came out to talk to the workers.
Martin Villams, who is a member of the Fiat union in Belgium, said it was "unacceptable" that the workers who staged last week's demonstration in the garage had been dismissed.
"If you can be dismissed for serious fault just because you take part in social action then you don't any more have any right for collective action and collective bargaining," he said.
Villams said Fiat must abide by the "rules of the social dialogue" and hold discussions with its workers about their demands for higher wages.
The Italian carmaker has been involved in discussions over a bid to buy Germany's Opel, whose parent company is the stricken General Motors Corp, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday.
Fiat's CEO Sergio Marchionne said on Friday that the Italian automaker had not given up on reaching a deal for Opel, even though a rival takeover plan by bidders Magna International Inc. and Russia's Sberbank was moving ahead.
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