ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Demonstrators clashed with police in Milan on Friday (December 12) as two Italian unions held a nationwide strike, the latest in a series of protests against labor reforms that would make it easier for firms to lay off workers.
Police said they made several arrests and television pictures showed officers in riot gear charging protesters who threw firecrackers and other objects.
According to local media reports the scuffles broke out when a group of some 20 students dressed in Santa Claus outfits climbed over the fence of the regional council headquarters and threw items including bottles and scissors at police officers. The police fired teargas to disperse the crowds.
Eleven police officers were injured in the scuffles, Italy's SKY TG24 news channel reported.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has pledged to push on with his reform program for an economy heading for a third straight year of contraction, but he is facing resistanc
