ROME, Nov. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Millions of Italians joined a general strike throughout the country on Friday to protest at spending cuts and the government's 2006 budget.

    The strike began with railway workers, who downed tools all over the country for four hours from 9 a.m.(0800 GMT). Civil servants and employees in the public sector extended the action for the whole day while in schools only a one-hour strike was being observed, local media reported.

    In the urban transportation sector, the strike varies city-by-city, in consideration of the morning and afternoon rush hours, while air transport will stop for four hours in the afternoon.

    The national carrier Alitalia had to cancel 230 flights, including 125 international routes, when workers launched strikes from 12 p.m.(1100 GMT) to 4 p.m.(1500 GMT).

    In Rome, except for restricted bus services, staff of the city's transportation system stop work at 9:30 a.m. (0830 GMT), while the public transport network in Venice fell into paralysis for three hours from 10 a.m. (0900 GMT).

    In Milan, the transport strike will last for four hours from 6 p.m. (1700 GMT).

    Emergency services were guaranteed in hospitals despite the 24-hour strike being observed in that sector.

    Full-day strikes were also called for sanitation and postal workers.

    The banks also closed in the morning for four hours as staff joined the demonstrations.

    The strike was called by Italy's three major unions -- the leftist CGIL, the moderate UIL and the Catholic CISL -- representing 12 million members.

    The unions said the government-proposed budget would fail to solve economic problems, such as stagnant growth and increasing public debt.

    They complained the budget would lead to cuts of local funding and the loss of 100,000 civil service jobs.

    This was the sixth general strike called against the center-right government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi since he took office in 2001. Enditem