IBM ITALIA -- Yesterday, more than 1850 people from 30 countries logged in to Second Life, some for the first time, to support or learn more about IBM workers in Italy who were protesting a salary cut.

The sim IBM Italia was bursting at the seems for 12 hours yesterday as journalists, protesters, IBM workers and curiosity seekers visited Second Life's first large scale virtual protest.

IBM representatives in Second Life were on hand to facilitate, answer questions and help guide visitors. However, IBM officials were not available to answer specific questions about the pay cuts.

The protest, staged by the italian workers union RSU (Rappresentenza Sindacale Unitaria) was assisted by members of Uni (Union Network International) the global federation of unions based in Switzerland.
Uni's virtual headquarters are on Commonwealth island .

As often happens during high-profile events in SL, a spammer generated an image that continued to spawn itself. In this case, a Super Mario Brothers cartoon.

The union's official statement was that during contract renewal talks, IBM's italy-based employees asked for a small salary increase of 40 euros. IBM responded by canceling their performance bonuses.

Protesters held placards and shouted comments such as: "At the negotiation table, they laugh in our face."

Rayshark Carter, a software developer for IBM's lab in Rome, was one of the protesters holding a placard. Carter says his paycheck is being cut a total of 1255 Euros per month or $1780 U.S.
Carter, who has been working for IBM for seven years, says the pay cut will hurt his standard of living. "Taxation in italy is very high. it's incredible. I think that IBM wants to spend less paying its employees."

A petition was circulated which asked IBM's chief executive officer in Italy, Andrea Pontremoli, to reconsider the pay cuts.

In May 2005 IBM announced a European-scale restructuring plan to curb a bloated workforce and reduce costs. IBM employs about 8000 workers in Italy.