Two workers occupy cathedral's bell tower to protest layoffs

Two workers are taking their protests against company layoffs to a higher authority - the very top of the bell tower in their local cathedral. Calling it a "sit-in prayer", two employees of Italcementi Sassari peacefully occupied the bell tower of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Sassari, on the island of Sardinia, Wednesday morning to publicize their dispute. Their Ugl union representative Simone Testoni said workers laid off last November still haven't been told what the company's next move will be. The sit-in prayer protest is expected to end at 8 p.m., when the Cathedral is locked for the day. But the workers warn they may return. Italcementi, which produces cement, reached a deal in 2008 with the regional government in which it pledged that while consolidating all its operations on the island, it would transfer existing employees rather than layoffs. But in May 2010, the factory closed.