( CNN ) -- A major Italian trade union called on workers to strike Tuesday , as the country 's Senate prepares to vote on austerity measures to try to bring the country 's budget under control . The strikes were causing transport chaos in cities across the country , with parts of the metro shut down in Rome , the Italian news agency ANSA reported . The CGIL union said demonstrations were planned for cities including Rome , Naples , Florence , Milan and many others . The strike comes amid international worries about the health of Italy 's economy , the third-largest in Europe . Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi last month insisted that his country could confront the financial anxieties shadowing Italy and rest of the continent . Speaking to lawmakers , he said the economic challenges Italy faces need `` to be tackled with determination and without panic . '' But he also noted `` we do not deny we are facing a crisis , '' adding : `` We need to work together to overcome it . '' There have been fears that the debt crisis roiling Greece and Portugal is spreading to Italy and could affect the stability of the euro , the currency used by 17 nations on the continent . Italy has one of the lowest growth rates in the world and among the highest public debts , warned Domenico Lombardi , a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former International Monetary Fund executive board member . He said the roots of Italy 's troubles lie in its huge public debt and low growth rate . Italy 's economy has been growing at only 0.3 % , he said , and most importantly is projected to grow at a similarly feeble rate for the next few years . `` This very low rate of growth really is one of the lowest in the world , '' he said , `` and on top of that Italy has a very high public debt . '' That debt stands at about 120 % of gross domestic product ( GDP ) -- or in other words , a fifth more than the country 's annual economic output -- and is one of the highest in the world , bar that of Greece , which has had to be bailed out by Europe . Put these two factors together in Italy and it `` becomes clear that the economy is not going to be able to generate enough resources to pay for its debt , '' Lombardi said . Professor Iain Begg of the London School of Economics told CNN that while Berlusconi 's public return to the helm on the economy was welcome after a conspicuous absence , Italy 's mercurial prime minister is also a part of the problem . Italy under Berlusconi has failed to `` grasp the nettle of economic reform '' to tackle low growth over a sustained period , Begg said . In addition , he said , Berlusconi erred in July by publicly criticizing Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti ( who is himself troubled by corruption allegations ) over recently announced austerity measures . `` As soon as you start playing these kind of games politically , the markets smell blood and as soon as they scent it , they start tearing flesh , '' Begg said . He argues that Italy should not be in trouble in the first place because although its debt is high , it is not rising . Also , the public-sector deficit -- the gap between taxation and expenditure -- is very low at 4 % compared with other countries , such as 10 % in the UK and 11 % in the United States . Italy is n't exposed to the same kind of property bubble as Spain and its banking system is strong , Begg said . But other elements , like the new debt deals agreed for Greece , Ireland and Portugal , have paradoxically pushed up borrowing costs for Italy to record levels -- with bond yields , or interest rates on government debt , reaching 6 % -- and put it under greater pressure , he said . Unlike McWilliams , Begg believes Italy is highly unlikely to default on its huge debt -- but its situation is nonetheless `` precarious '' if it wants to avoid years of low growth . And the picture is not altogether bleak . Unemployment in Italy , at just over 8 % , is not as high as in Spain or Greece , Begg said , giving more leeway for the government to carry out tough reforms and the economy to be turned round . CNN 's Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report .
Strikes cause transport chaos in cities across the country , an Italian news agency reports . Score: 6 Italy is trying to bring down its public debt , which is 120 % of GDP . Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi insists that the country can tackle the crisis .