(Finance) – A meeting was held today at Palazzo Chigi between the Government and the trade union confederations onformer Ilva of Taranto. Present at the table were the Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council, Alfredo Mantuathe Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Ursusthe Minister of Labor and Social Policies, Marina Cauldronthe Minister for European Affairs, Cohesion Policies and the PNRRRaffaele Fitto, and the national leaders of FIM – CISL, FIOM – CGIL, UILM – UIL, UGL and USB.
“After listening to the considerations of the workers’ representatives regarding the complex issues that have characterized the steel plant for decades – we read in a note from Palazzo Chigi -, the Government recalled the measures adopted so far to address, one by one, the numerous and long-standing critical issues of the matter. This is a serious situation which the Executive has taken charge of since its inauguration, introducing, with the law decree n. 69/2023rules to make the management of the company possible, to unlock the resources made available to it, to close the infringement procedures in progress”.
“The Government – continues the note –, which considers today’s meeting as a stage in an ongoing process and which is well aware of the urgency of the interventions, has reiterated its commitment to giving perspective solutionsfocusing its action as a priority on completing the process decarbonisationon the positive definition of the infringement procedures in progress, on the verification of the concrete commitment of the private partner to the relaunch of the plant and on the guarantee of safety in the plants”.
Palazzo Chigi therefore made it known that after the ongoing discussions with the shareholders, a new moment of comparison with the unions.
However, the meeting did not convince i labor unions. For Rocco Palombellageneral secretary of Uilm“the government began by saying ‘tell us’ and we had to repeat, once again, the dramatic situation experienced by the former Ilva factories. There were no responses on their part, in fact I believe that there are steps backwards, because while a few months ago there was the possibility of regaining the majority and there was the possibility that the State would assume the majority, now that reasoning is completely quashed”.
“We have tried to represent to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers a situation that is objective: we are facing de facto euthanasia in Italy of Acciaierie d’Italia and we are facing euthanasia of the steel industry in Italy” states the general secretary Fiom, Michele De Palma. Also the general secretary of the Fim Cisl, Roberto Benaglia, spoke of an “unsatisfactory meeting”, which “did not give the answers that the situation deserves”. According to Benaglia “the situation is worsening, without Acciaierie di Italia and without the steel industry the country not only has 20 thousand workers at risk, but is poorer and more backward. We cannot afford it”.
The unions therefore confirmed all ongoing mobilization initiatives including the 24-hour strike on Thursday 28 September.