Fiat wins givebacks from Turin workers

TURIN, Italy, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Workers at a Fiat factory in Italy have agreed to major concessions in the face of company threats to move abroad.

The package, which includes longer hours, benefit cutbacks and limits on strikes, was approved by 54 percent of workers at the Mirafiori plant in Turin, the BBC reported.

Unions have denounced the deal as selling out workers' rights, but Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has said the conditions are essential to rescuing the automaker, which would perform better without its money-losing Italian plants.

By making an agreement for an individual plant, Fiat has broken Italy's tradition of national labor negotiations and followed flexible contracts already common in other European countries.