Fourth day of strike, still uncertainty about the immediate removal of roadblocks. Tomorrow morning the unions will meet with the workers
The Government has scheduled a meeting for 27 October, at 5pm, at Palazzo Chigi, in the Sala Verde, on the former Ilva dispute while the protests by steelworks workers in Taranto continue: for the fourth consecutive day, since Monday, the demonstrators have organized protests on state roads 7 for Massafra and 106 Jonica in the direction of Reggio Calabria. The measure approved by the executive did not allay fears and even last night some workers and union delegates remained along the streets, taking shelter in tents and lighting makeshift fires to protect themselves from the cold.
The removal of the blocks is still uncertain
According to what was reported by Ansa, the summons came with a letter sent by the head of the Cabinet of the undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano "for an update on the situation of the former Ilva". Mantovano himself, together with the Minister of Labour, Marina Calderone, government sources explain, conducted the negotiations also speaking with the president of the Puglia Region and the prefect of Taranto and it was agreed to convene the union delegations which would be committed to removing the blockages which are creating serious impacts on the distribution of fuel. On this point, however, Film holds back and clarifies that it is not yet certain whether the blockade of the state roads which has been in place for four days will be lifted this evening or tomorrow morning. "We are leaving Bari after the meeting in the Puglia Region and are returning to Taranto - said the secretary Luigi Bennardi -. As soon as we return we will inform the workers who are in charge of the state roads, telling them what emerged from the meeting in the Puglia Region, and tomorrow morning we will call a large assembly. Today we have obtained a great and by no means obvious result in the Region: the entire Regional Council and the local institutions of Taranto have shared our approach on the former Ilva, that is extraordinary protections for workers and a decarbonised factory".
The unions' comment
Satisfaction was expressed by the unions at the convening of the meeting by the government: "The mobilization and strikes of the workers of the former Ilva have obtained the convening of the discussion table at Palazzo Chigi", we read in a joint note from Fim, Fiom and Uilm. This is "a necessary comparison to have guarantees and certainties on an industrial, working and social level", add the unions.
Francesco Brigati of Fiom added: "It is clear that the issue of the 27th is also linked to what will happen at the Court of Cassation. We have said it clearly: in the meantime that decarbonisation is being discussed and the first electric oven is installed, we must give immediate answers to the workers. Our battle is not whether a roll or a slab arrives. Our battle - he continues - is from an industrial point of view and the prospect of changing the production cycle. We are having the meeting tomorrow and sometimes there is discouragement, there is resignation, but the fact that today we achieved this great result, I think it is a fundamental fact that must keep us going until the end. We will not retreat an inch."
Uilm comments: "The convening of the table at Palazzo Chigi for 27 October is the result of the workers' mobilizations which in recent days have made it possible to acquire a first result in a still long and difficult path. The objective must be to reach a solution that provides certainty on the employment, environmental and industrial future of the former Ilva, Taranto and all the other sites and territories affected by the dispute". Guglielmo Gambardella and Luigi declare it
Bennardi, respectively national secretary and Taranto of Uilm. "Today we were in the Puglia Region and we shared a document in which the institutions undertake to guarantee the environment, health and work in Taranto - they say -. The platform of the works council of 7 October, which will represent the shared agenda to protect workers with extraordinary tools and compensation, which indicates the decarbonised industrial perspective and the priority of ensuring the health of workers and citizens, has been adopted by all political forces. We must stop this eternal employment emergency: Government and politics as a whole must take on all the decisions necessary to protect and compensate workers, directly, in the contract and in Ilva AS".
The comparison with Decaro
The request to urgently convene an inter-ministerial table at Palazzo Chigi had arrived at the end of the meeting between Fim, Fiom, Uilm and Usb, institutional representatives and the President of the Region Antonio Decaro. From the meeting in Bari a common platform emerged between institutions and unions to address the crisis and the request to urgently convene an inter-ministerial table at Palazzo Chigi. The meeting, which began at 10.30 am and ended at 5 pm, was attended by all the trade union representatives, the presidents of the groups of the Regional Council, the mayor and the president of the Province of Taranto, as well as the Sepac committee. In the final document, the parties share the proposals contained in the text drawn up on 7 October by the unitary works council, which "will constitute the starting point for the common platform of action of the institutions and trade unions". As for the government decree law, it is recognized as a "bridge" intervention, motivated by necessity and urgency. While appreciating the intentions, the parties ask for further extraordinary measures to protect workers and employment, as well as tools capable of guaranteeing an industrial perspective for the plant, with the direct involvement of the State. Through Decaro, institutions and unions are committed to promoting united action to obtain an urgent discussion at Palazzo Chigi on the crisis in the Taranto area. Finally, the document identifies the production continuity of the plant, as long as it is "sustainable and compatible with health", as the preliminary condition for any discussion. Production will have to be decarbonised, progressively introducing the use of green hydrogen when technological conditions allow it. The document resulting from the meeting states that "the production continuity of the plant, sustainable and compatible with health", must be "the prodromal condition for any discussion; production must therefore be decarbonised by progressively introducing the use of green hydrogen when technological conditions allow it".
Emergency supplies
The blocking of access to the Eni refinery in Taranto is causing a real emergency in fuel supplies, with serious repercussions on the distribution network, public transport and air traffic. Meanwhile, the wait remains for October 20, when the Court of Cassation will examine the appeals of AdI in extraordinary administration and Ilva in extraordinary administration against the closure of the hot area.
In-depth analysis
Former Ilva, Commissioners: Genoa, Taranto and Novi Ligure factories open
