Workers at Fiat's beleaguered Termini Imerese plant received a boost on Sunday when Pope Benedict XVI called on all parties to protect jobs at the Sicilian production site, the pontiff referring to the factory which is set to be shuttered next year.

"The economic crisis is causing the loss of many jobs and this calls for a huge sense of responsibility by everyone, entrepreneurs, workers [and] governing officials," the Pontiff said after he had finished his weekly midday Angelus blessing to the faithful in St. Peter's Square, an address that was broadcast on Italian TV. "I think of some difficult situations in Italy, like, for example, Termini Imerese and Portovesme. Do everything possible to protect and spur job growth, assuring dignified and adequate work to sustain families." The pope's words endorsed the Italian Episcopal Conference's appeal: "that everything possible be done to protect and increase employment, assuring families of dignified work and adequate support.

While Termini Imerese is set to close when production of the current-generation B-segment Lancia Ypsilon runs out, the Pope also mentioned by name the Portovesme plant on the south coast of the island of Sardinia, one of two Italian sites that American aluminium giant Alcoa intends to shut down at some point this year. In recent days the Italian government has asked Alcoa to reconsider its decision and some Alcoa workers held up a banner as the pope addressed the faithful.

The pope's appeal to business leaders and government came as a huge boost to the unions that are on the back foot as Fiat determinedly presses on with plans to close the island site. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has made it clear that the carmaker doesn't see social responsibility as part of its remit, making a clear switch away from previous policies, in particular those championed by former Fiat Chairman Gianni Agnelli who always saw social matters as a core factor. "The pope's appeal must not fall by the wayside," Luigi Angeletti, the secretary-general of the UIL union, told Reuters yesterday while union leaders told ANSA that they were "moved and overjoyed" when they heard the pope's words on television.

Meanwhile production of the Ypsilon resumed at Termini Imerese today after Fiat had suspended activities at the plant last week due to protests that saw workers occupying a rooftop. Around 1,400 workers will lose their jobs when the plant closes down. On Friday Italian Economic Development Minister Claudio Scajola said that the government had received seven expressions of interest in the factory, including one that aims to build the Indo-US Reva electric car at the plant which previously built the Fiat Grande Punto and first-generation Panda.