Rome appeals to Washington to find a solution, after the local staff of some US military bases in Italy were not paid due to the shutdown
At an American airbase. Photo credit: Alireza Boeini / Alamy / Profimedia
The local staff of some US military bases in Italy have not been paid due to the US government shutdown (shutdown), and Rome is in talks with the US authorities to resolve the problem, the Italian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
About 2,000 Italian non-military employees, mainly from the Aviano air base and the Vicenza military base in northeastern Italy, did not receive their salaries for October, although they are employed under Italian labor contracts, the ministry said.
However, the Italian employees at the American naval bases in the country were paid on time, because the navy applies different rules than the army and the air force, notes News.ro.
In the United States, the government shutdown, which has reached a record length of nearly 40 days, has left millions of federal government workers without pay, frozen essential food aid and disrupted air travel, among other effects.
The Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, urged both Washington and the US embassy in Rome to act quickly, regardless of when the shutdown will end.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (of Italy) sent a request to the US Embassy in Rome, which confirmed that the US Army and Air Force are examining together with the Pentagon the possibility of using their own funds to pay Italian employees,” the ministry said in a statement.
