Safety and recovery of production activities: these two needs seem incompatible in the areas affected by the earthquake. On the one hand the entrepreneurs put the ordinance number 2 of the Civil Protection of June 2, which attributes responsibility for safety to the owners of production activities, is in the dock. They can reopen only on the basis of an anti-seismic certification "following the safety verification required by the seismic regulations in force, carried out by a qualified professional, who must deposit it in the territorially competent Municipality".
On the other hand, the CGIL denounces that "the workers of some factories hit by the earthquake have been asked for a release, relieving the companies of all civil and criminal charges in the event of accidents". In short, entrepreneurs think their hands are tied, but they certainly can't think of freeing them like this. But what exactly is the problem? The fact is that many sheds were built before 2005, so they are not up to standard. Explains Rodolfo Musci of Pressmair of Finale Emilia. “This ordinance cannot be respected. Think about my case. I have a partially unusable shed and I have to fix it, to bring the employees back. I will certainly arrange it according to the anti-seismic regulations, but that ordinance prevents me from carrying out site inspections, from entering with the planners, from hiring a company to do the work, because if an earthquake occurs and someone who is working to fix the my shed, to bring it up to standard, I'm going to jail".
So should it be brought down? “Yes – replies Musci – I can tear it down and rebuild it, but this means that instead of 300 euros I spend one and a half million, while I invoice nothing, make no profit and lose orders. It doesn't take much to understand that this road fails. That ordinance needs to be changed, because it blocks any activity: the barber shop, the greengrocer, the supermarket and businesses. We must be able to proceed in small steps. As I arrange a part of the shed according to the 2005 regulation, I need to be able to place my employees in that area. Together with me, of course, because the entrepreneur is always the first to join the company”. What about an employee release? “No, this is absurd”. The problem highlighted by Musci is the same one mentioned by the President of Confindustria Squinzi last night in Modena.
The difficult situation certainly does not justify those who try to unload the responsibility on those who work, as the unions denounce and writes Repubblica on its website. There is a letter to the employees of Forme Physique in Carpi in the Modena area which reads: "Each employee who deems it appropriate to continue to carry out his or her business frees the property from any criminal and civil liability". The list of employees who have already signed up follows, writes Repubblica. The owner of Forme Physique, Paola Zerbini, however, denies: «I did not have that document signedObviously someone misunderstood. Just this morning I told the workers that whoever wants to come to work can come and whoever doesn't want to can stay at home. And also that the responsibility remains mine, despite our technician having declared the usability of the shed, where we are rented. We are doing everything to keep it open, we were ready to bring the containers but the employees said they felt safe like this. I don't understand, we'll go to a lawyer."
Still 71 aftershocks in the last 24 hours: land victims rise to 25
In the last 24 hours, 71 events have been recorded in Emilia by the Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. Four earthquakes had a magnitude between 3.0 and 3.2, while the others had a lower magnitude.
Meanwhile, the number of victims of the earthquake is growing: now they are 25, because Sandra Gherardi, 46, from Cento, died today at the Maggiore hospital in Bologna. The woman had been in a coma since May 29 when she was hit on the head by objects falling from a roof. After being admitted, she never regained consciousness.
Toselli (Mayor of Sant'Agostino): modify the ordinance
Even the mayor of Sant'Agostino, Fabrizio Toselli, invokes a modification of last Saturday's Civil Protection ordinance: "All production activities are blocked - he says to the microphones of Tgcom24 - and we are waiting for a government decree or a new ordinance to restart . Money aside, rules are needed to get the economy back on track, otherwise in six months we will have a social earthquake in these areas”. Toselli does not know that, in his municipality, there are companies that have tried to get employees to sign releases: "They have closed practically all of them because of the ordinance".
