By Tamsin Smith BBC, Rome

People crowded into piazzas across Italy today, waving union banners in protest at the government's plans to make them pay towards pensions for longer and to retire later.

Here in Rome, the focal point was Piazza Navona where several hundred people crowded round a stage to hear the leaders of Italy's main unions speak.

The protesters feel they are not being consulted

In the sea of red and green flags in front of the stage I spoke to teachers, bank clerks and transport workers, all worried that the governments pension proposal could mean they would lose out.

"I am here because I'm worried about my pension... I have to work a lot for a small pension," says Roberto, who works for a call centre in Rome.

"I don't think the government should make us work longer... There are other things it can do to save money and they're just not consulting us about the decision."

"I'm worried about my future and my pensions," says Laura, a ticket inspector for ATAC, a company which runs buses and the underground in Rome.

"Life is very expensive for us... I don't think we should work longer. Instead we should improve the conditions we work in so people work better."

Looking for plaudits

The unions say this is just the first stage of their opposition to the government pension plans.

We are going to fight this change all the way Giacomo Barbieri Union spokesman

Giacomo Barbieri, European spokesman for CGIL, Italy's largest and most militant union, says Italy's pension system does not need reforming and the government is just looking for plaudits on the European stage.

"This pension reform is just being used by our government as a business card in Europe to cover the other faults in our economy," he says.

"Pensions have already been reformed and these plans will hurt the poorest people... We are going to fight this change all the way."

Union militancy over pension reform brought the last Berlusconi government to its knees in 1994. But today the political scenery looks very different.

The unions are weaker and the government is stronger. Friday's strike only lasted four hours and the demonstrations were notably muted by comparison.

'Too little too late'

Although buses were not running, shops and restaurants and even some banks were still open and the streets looked as busy as usual unlike previous demonstrations which brought the country to a total standstill.

Unions say the pension system does not need reforming

Some political analysts like Franco Pavoncello from John Cabot University think the pension reform will eventually be agreed by the parliament and Mr Berlusconi could actually come out on top.

Many people are starting to realise that the pension system is a problem in Italy where it absorbs 14% of GDP - the highest in any European country.

They see changes happening in other European countries - the pension reforms could paradoxically help Berlusconi's popularity as he will be seen to take action.

But opposition to the reforms does not just come from the unions. Italy's industrialists and economists have not yet taken to the streets but many say the plans do not go far enough.