From new industrial plan of FCA, the latest by Sergio Marchionne, alla formation of the new government, up to the new challenges of the trade union which were discussed in various tables at the Trento Festival of Economics, which focused precisely on the theme "Technology and work". Marco Bentivogli, general secretary of Fim Cisl, the Cisl metalworkers' union, illustrates its guidelines to FIRSTonline starting from a fixed point: “Technology is a value, and it is not true that it is not neutral. It is, because it incorporates the values of those who use it, it embodies the values of those who produce it: whether or not it will create inequalities depends on us and on how we use it. But it's time to say enough to technophobia: in many factories I visit, the workers themselves compete to try out the new systems. Technology can improve their working conditions and, above all, productivity”. You just need to know how to use it in the right way, but this requires a cultural revolution, even for the union. Here because.
The latest economic data show that Italian industry has restarted and that turnover will return to pre-crisis levels in 2019, but that employment is still far from that of 2007. And in Italy we are investing more and more in robotics. Is work in factories in danger?
“Absolutely not: technology has always produced more work than it has eliminated. If we look at some of the most technological countries in the world such as South Korea, Japan, Germany, they have unemployment rates of around 3%. If we find it difficult to grow and hire, it is because there is a lack of industrial culture and investments, but it is not the fault of technology. Digital and economic infrastructures that will change people's lives are already happening. The real challenge is how the country is a candidate to move towards change. A serious country builds within itself the ability to anticipate what is needed: we, like Fim-Cisl, in the last national contract have won the subjective right to training, that is, alongside the salary, training must be guaranteed to all and must be the intersection between the needs of companies and the construction of the workers' skills necessary to satisfy them. This is why widespread networks are needed where people can retrain and relocate. During the crisis the union had to protect people, but now we are committed to elevating people and their skills to make them stronger within this great change. We want to stay in the future and technology is a great ally for humanising work and for freeing people to work. For example, also through smart working, which is a tool that is working and which is possible thanks to technology".
In your opinion, how should the union take up this new challenge?
“On all new issues it is necessary to use new instruments also from the trade union point of view. In FCA in 2006, when the first technological implementation began, the union called itself out thinking that it was already protected by the historic 1971 agreement which provided for the assistance of the delegate when the company technicians analyzed the times and methods of the work cycles. However, it was not understood that in the new factory that agreement was useless because the Fordist organization had failed. It is therefore necessary to free oneself from that unhealthy culture of those who, for political reasons, almost need to portray the factory as a hellish place, investing in people's anger to achieve electoral goals without realizing that then those same people have taken refuge elsewhere , as evidenced by what we are witnessing today”.
Have you already experienced something new in this sense?
“Yes, again in FCA, for example, we carried out a research, once it was called a workers' investigation, together with the Turin Polytechnic and in that research it emerged how the workers show the desire for greater cognitive involvement. Many of them compete to experiment with new things. Technology can be our great ally in improving workers' health and we cannot ignore that leaving behind a tiring job, also thanks to the use of technology itself, is a union conquest. In the FCA factories, technology has made it possible to take care of the ergonomics so that the car slides along the assembly line, rises, lowers and rotates according to the physical characteristics of the worker. Taking care of ergonomics is not only taking care of the worker's well-being, but it is also the way to increase productivity, which is another fundamental issue. A factory that squeezes the worker and does not produce at its maximum does not have much future. We have to create smart factories and build a 4.0 ecosystem: in this ecosystem, training is fundamental and man is at the centre".
Speaking of FCA, on June XNUMX Sergio Marchionne has presented its latest industrial plan as managing director, the one who aims at eliminating the debt and at further investments for the electric car and new products. You were present at the FCA Investor Day in Balocco: what impressions did you have?
“The positive aspects are those of electrification and new products: the idea of abandoning the mass market is a good one, because by now the margins of the mass market are just over a few tens of euros. The debt cancellation, which will take place within this month, is also good. However, there are some critical points: for example, there is a lack of locations for the investments, knowing precisely in which establishments they will be made. There is no danger that they will not be made in Italy, but the plan in this sense is not very precise: the goal must be to return to full employment. The other critical issue is that of the strategy of large alliances: FCA is a large group on a global level but it probably has to consider expanding to better face all the new challenges".
Among the novelties of these days there is also the birth of the new government, after almost three months of labor. What do you expect from the new starred Executive?
“I will measure it by going into the merits of the concrete issues. For now I can only say that I don't mind the merging of the two ministries, Economic Development and Labour. However, the government contract is worrying: there is almost nothing on work and industry, indeed there is an underlying anti-industrial sentiment. The intentions expressed on the Ilva issue also bear witness to this: Italy is a large manufacturing country that has a vital need for steel, and cannot afford to import it. The issue is not only that, already very important, of the 20 workers who would risk their jobs, but it also affects the country's industrial future. And it's not true that steel necessarily pollutes: I cite, among the many possible ones, the virtuous example of Austria”.
The Minister of Economic Development and Labour, Luigi Di Maio, in the past has explicitly said that he wants to abolish trade unions and that he wants to encourage direct bargaining for workers. And he is also the proponent of basic income. What do you think?
“On the first question, I half agree with him. Obviously not on the fact of abolishing the union, but yes on direct bargaining. However, every time it came to voting for the provision in Parliament, the 5 Star Movement did not respond present: the Ichino law, which also provided for this, is still in the drawer. As you know, I am against the basic income: I cannot imagine a world in which fewer and fewer people work and more and more people remain "on the bench", to use sporting jargon".
Faced with the birth of the first populist government in Italy, the lack of a strong democratic opposition that serves to balance the powers in the political system clearly appears: there are those, like the former minister Calenda, who argue that a vast front should be created opposition republican in defense of the Constitution and of Italy in Europe. What is your opinion?
“I have another job so I don't comment on this type of proposal. However, I say that the strongest alternative to populism, which unfortunately has also been fueled by some trade unions who have stuck to the banners of article 18 and the Fornero law, is popularism, that is, building projects for changing society that are popular and who don't look at scratching people's bellies but who use their awareness and participation. The same, if you will, applies to the union. I am against the union that vetoes reform processes: a reform is good not if it satisfies the workers in question, but if it involves them and commits them to improve productivity or the quality of service, depending on the sector we are talking about. Students, not teachers, must be at the heart of school reform. Patients, not doctors and nurses, should be placed at the center of a health reform".
Returning to the topics covered in Trento, there is that of gig economy workers: the riders of the various Deliveroo, Foodora, Glovo, for example. There is a lot of talk about the lack of protection for these workers, who still represent a small percentage but there are more and more. Tito Boeri, scientific director of the Festival, has launched the proposal for a legal minimum wage. Agree?
“The big problem is the crushing that we live in Italy, the so-called two-tone highway: either self-employed workers, or employees. E-workers are neither: classifying them as employees would destroy the companies that employ them, classifying them as self-employed would deprive them of any protection. We need to think about new protections, but the union must change its attitude: large-scale collective bargaining must not transfigure itself to intercept these workers but rather must change the characteristics of the bargaining to approach the issue in a specific way and think about real protections. Boeri's proposal must be evaluated, I like Professor Michele Faioli's more, which provides for four protection plans for workers on digital platforms".
