The ruling adds a new metric into the carmaker's ongoing strategy of rewriting its labour rules and contracts as well as deepening its rift with the combative Fiom union which has led a fierce rearguard action against the sweeping changes that have been accepted by most of the other unions.

The three were fired after they allegedly blocked a robot arm supplying production lines at Melfi, forcing the plant's 1,750 workers to down tools, during a dispute in July 2010 that had involved around 50 workers walking out in protest against planned cutbacks and longer hours.

The Fiom union and the three workers took their dismissal case to the Italian courts and a month after the brief strike and their dismissal the court ruled that Fiat should reinstate them.

The men, Giovanni Barozzino, Antonio Lamorte and Marco Pignatelli, also made domestic headlines for writing to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano to try to persuade Fiat to honour the court's ruling. However Fiat was adamant that it wouldn't do so, it continued to pay them, and then it won a second case.

That remained the state of play until last week's ruling reversed the decision which orders Fiat to reinstate the workers. Fiat responded by stating that it continued to find the action of the three workers unacceptable, according to Reuters, and that it would take an appeal to Italy's highest court.