(Finance) – 48 hour strike in the Taranto steel plant of the operating workers of the blast furnace area proclaimed by the Rsu Fim, Fiom and Uilm delegates of Acciaierie d’Italia, who sent a communication to the company warning it from stopping the Afo2 plant, already in the process of slowing down load.
The company explained the need to start a program of maintenance interventions regarding various production areas, with the shutdown of Blast Furnace 2 for seven days, but for the unions “critical situations could arise from the point of view of worker safety, from from an environmental and plant protection point of view with the consequent total shutdown of the plant”.
The suspension of the plant’s activity involves the use of only Blast Furnace 4, as Afo5 and Afo1 are already closed. The strike, the metalworking acronyms specify, is being implemented “to prevent ArcelorMittal from continuing its blackmail, using the workers and the factory as a shield, to receive further public resources to squander until the plant closes.”
The protest was an initiative implemented on the day of the Acciaierie d’Italia shareholders’ meeting, which met in the afternoon to decide how to deal with the financial crisis, but without record significant progress. So, black smoke for the Acciaierie di Italia shareholders’ meeting which was reconvened for next December 11th. The two partners, Arcelor Mittal and Invitalia were called upon to intervene regarding the financial support.
“The Acciaierie d’Italia shareholders’ meeting has just ended with yet another stalemate. Today was supposed to be liberation day but instead it continues to be a tragic that borders on the improbable”, declares Rocco Palombella, General Secretary Uilm. “How is it possible that the Government continues to hold up an assembly that has now been under blackmail by a majority shareholder for months and that continues to stop the plants and allows itself to present the bill, instead of taking note of its management bankruptcy? We have understood for some time that the objective is to stop the factories and request compensation for damages, after they have been the architects of a management that has only caused plant shutdowns, layoffs for thousands of workers and burned over a billion public resources. We believe it is unacceptable to give further time to those who continue to hold the factories in check, blocking production and mocking workers and trade unions, even with rambling statements. We expect radical and definitive choices from the Government, too much time has already been wasted . We expect an urgent summons from Palazzo Chigi, otherwise we will summon ourselves. The situation is about to explode but the necessary decisions continue to not be made.”
“The news leaking from the shareholders’ meeting of Acciaierie d’Italia, regarding yet another postponement, is unacceptable. It is now clear Arcelor Mittal’s intent to undermine the former Ilva by not starting the recapitalization and preventing the investments necessary to guarantee the present and future of the steel group”. Thus in a note Michele De Palma, general secretary of Fiom-Cgil. “The Italian Government – adds De Palma – defend the dignity of the country, a dignity that the workers defend by striking to save the plants, avoiding the shutdown of Afo2, and to guarantee the ecological transition of steel production. The Government must no longer allow itself to be held hostage by Arcelor Mittal and must intervene in the next few hours to take control and management of the company”