ROME, Nov 30: Italy ground to a halt on Tuesday as millions of workers observed a general strike to protest against the economic policies of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right government.

Industries across the country came to a standstill as columns of demonstrators filed through the centres of Rome, Turin, Milan, Venice and other main cities. Unions claimed more than a million protesters had taken to the streets as public service workers went on strike for eight hours and other sectors opted for four-hour stoppages.

Tens of thousands of travellers caught up in the strike had to cope with severe delays at airports and rail stations around the country as trains and planes were cancelled.

National carrier Alitalia said it had cancelled 136 flights, including 70 international routes, but the strike also forced British Airways, Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa into frantic rescheduling and cancellations as airport staff went on a four-hour strike from midday.

In the rain-blanketed capital Rome, many of those who did go to work had to cope with curtailed public transport services. "There will be more than a million people on the streets," said Sergio Betti of the CISL, one of Italy's three main unions which called the strike. Between them the CGIL, CISL and UIL represent around 10 million workers.

"For the past four years we've had growth of one per cent a year, we're a country effectively at a standstill, while others around us are progressing". The country's biggest selling newspapers were not published on Tuesday due to a related print workers' strike the day before and only a few newspapers close to the government appeared.

Tuesday's was the fifth general strike, affecting the vast majority of Italy's 23 million workforce, in the past two-and-a-half years. -AFP