'Stop hitting the weakest': Italian workers kickoff anti-austerity general strike

Up to 30,000 members of two of Italy’s biggest unions gathered for a general strike in Rome, protesting recent austerity measures. 

The demonstration came days after crowds hit the streets of Athens and Madrid for similar protests.

­Throngs of protesters – ranging from university professors, public administration and health employees, and garbage collectors – took to the streets of Italy on Friday as part of a strike organized by the Italian General Confederation of Labor (CGIL) and the Italian Union of Labor (UIL).

"Stop hitting the weakest. We have already given enough," the unions wrote on their websites.