While waiting for the Supreme Court's ruling, the related companies have announced their intention to suspend the planned layoffs. "We intend to give a positive response to the government's invitation to suspend layoffs in the related industries at least until the Supreme Court ruling", said Nicola Convertino, president of the association that brings together the companies involved in the former Ilva. In the next few hours the times and methods of the block will be definitive. "This is a further act of responsibility on our part, because we understand that the situation is difficult", added the president of the Aepi Confederation, Mino Dinoi.
From what is filtering, the executive is working to develop a decree that contains measures for the protection of related workers. During this morning's meeting, the executive presented the strategy for the former Ilva to the unions, from the commitment to a green future for steel, with electric furnaces powered by direct reduced iron (DRI), to the continuation of the tender for the sale of the plants. Palazzo Chigi would also have guaranteed the protection of workers, both in the steel mills and in related industries, through a redundancy fund model that does not correspond to the CIG for cessation of activities and the start of reindustrialization projects in the Taranto area.
"In essence, the single emergency shock absorber is used and not the one for termination of the company", said Mantovano, speaking of a "bridge provision" that has its own "flexibility in relation to the progress of the tender". "Subsequent workers will not be left out of this emergency regulatory intervention by the government, in parallel with the immediate start of a reindustrialization process involving all those who have projects and investments in the Taranto area, including defence. To this end, the role of the Institutional Development Contracts (CIS) will be strengthened and incentives will be provided for hiring", said the undersecretary during the table with the acronyms.
At the end of the meeting, a technical table on the former Ilva dedicated to issues concerning "social management and issues that are open for workers" was convened for Friday 18 September at the Ministry of Labour. While the government and unions will meet again next week. The dossier on the former Ilva would also have been at the center of the government meeting held last night at Palazzo Chigi: some sources explained that it was a preparatory meeting, not the only one in recent days, in view of the meeting between the executive and the unions. Present, among others, were Undersecretary Mantovano, the competent ministers - Giancarlo Giorgetti for the Economy, Adolfo Urso for Business, Gilberto Pichetto for the Environment, Marina Calderone for Labour, Tommaso Foti for European Affairs - and the technicians.
And while we continue to think about the dossier, the procedure for shutting down the Taranto steelworks could begin in the next few hours, perhaps already today. In fact, to respect the effective shutdown of the hot area established by the Milanese judges by the end of October, it is necessary to start a suspension of the blast furnaces and coke ovens in good time. The suspension procedure, in other words, must begin before the deadline set by the judges: this is why, with the date of the stop of the activities of the hot area of the Taranto plant getting ever closer, the shutdown procedures could begin shortly.
Meanwhile, new rumors are also arriving on the sales front: the possibility of an offer from the Italian consortium is emerging. An offer that could arrive as early as the first weeks of October, but which would remain oriented only to the cold-processing area of the Taranto plant. The government "has repeatedly reiterated its willingness to support players interested in the former Ilva", but "until the offers are revealed it will not be possible to talk about state participation", reiterated sources close to the commissioners.
For the general secretary of Fiom, Michele De Palma, "the workers are mobilized to block layoffs". "We think that in the situation we are in, our proposal, the one we put forward to the government, was the only practicable proposal. That is, that of a public company that gives continuity to decarbonisation and guarantees production and employment", said the leader of the metalworkers before entering Palazzo Chigi for the meeting between the government and the unions. De Palma specified how "the delay has generated a complex situation". "Now the point is how to safeguard workers and decarbonisation. But on the other hand, production and employment, otherwise we run the risk of stopping our country's steel production", he added.
Along the same lines is the comment of the general secretary of Uilm Davide Sperti according to which "the absolute priority" should be to talk about the "blocking of dismissals of procurement workers, who have been the most exposed to this shameful affair for fourteen years". "Then we want to find answers on what we asked for as extraordinary solutions of a salary nature, certainly, but social and employment ones, also through compensation tools for all workers", he added.
"For us, blocking layoffs is fundamental, so we want guarantees that this will be implemented and dedicated shock absorbers built to allow us to give certainty to workers", said the general secretary of the Fim Cisl Ferdinando Uliano who then added on the hypothesis of selling the plants: "Putting the ball back to private individuals, who to date have not presented any clear plan, is not the way for us to address the industrial issue".
On the former Ilva table at Palazzo Chigi, the president of Puglia Antonio Decaro stated that the government has "almost entirely" accepted the Region's proposals. "I asked first of all for a special law that protects workers and jobs and can make the territory more attractive for investments, also with national instruments, greater incentives precisely in that territory", said the Apulian president on the sidelines of the presentation of the 89th edition of the Fiera del Levante in Bari. And he added: "At the same time we asked for a pension slide and a series of initiatives".
While waiting for news from the meeting with the government in Rome, in Taranto workers and representatives of Fim, Fiom, Uilm and Usb held a demonstration in front of the management concierge of the former Ilva in the morning. Around 5,000 direct employees will be affected by the possible extension of the extraordinary redundancy fund, in addition to the 4,500 already authorised, around 3,800 of whom are in the Apulian city. For the contract-related industries, however, the cash derogation is evaluated, together with interventions to block the dismissals already announced. Fiom confirmed the state of mobilization. "The government has ensured that there will be a decree with which social safety nets will be ensured for workers, including those in procurement", said De Palma who added: "This is an important step in the emergency but it does not represent the solution to the problems that exist. For us the state of mobilization is confirmed until we have a protocol on a path that guarantees the future of the steelworks workers".
Meanwhile, the Chamber approved, at first reading, with 162 votes in favour, 108 against and 5 abstentions the excise-Ilva decree which now passes to the Senate. For the part concerning the Taranto steel hub, the provision authorized a further loan of up to 100.5 million euros for the year 2026 in favor of Acciaierie d'Italia s.p.a. (Adi) under extraordinary administration, to be transferred directly from the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, at the request of the commissioner body and in a solution, pending the ongoing sale procedure.
