Surprise move by ArcelorMittal which convened the unions announced layoffs for 3.500 employees after the decision of the court of Taranto to reject the extension requested by the commissioners on the use of blast furnace 2. The news was anticipated by the Sun 24 Hours and confirmed by Fim Cisl Brindisi-Taranto. “The company has informed the trade union organizations that, following the rejection of the request made by the Ilva Commissioners under extraordinary administration for an extension of the shutdown of Afo2, they will shortly send them the start of the extraordinary redundancy fund procedure for 3.500 unit". The union also specified that "the 3.500 units include the 1.273 that would have been placed in Cigo (ordinary redundancy fund, ed.)". It should be emphasized that 8.200 employees are currently employed in Taranto.
Meantime Ilva's extraordinary commissioners are considering an appeal to the Court of Appeal against the decision taken yesterday, December 10, by judge Francesco Maccagnano.
Your ability to use Blast Furnace 2 will expire on Friday, December 13. The plant has been seized (and released) several times following the 2015 accident, which cost the life of the worker Alessandro Morricella.
For the moment, ArcelorMittal has not indicated when the extraordinary layoffs will be launched, nor how long it will last, nor which plants will be affected: "It's just a good and good provocation - declare Biagio Prisciano and Vincenzo La Neve of the Fim Cisl - because ArcelorMittal doesn't even wait for the continuation of the proceedings of the judiciary, not even waiting for the outcome of the appeal that Ilva in extraordinary administration will make to the Review Court against the refusal of the extension by judge Maccagnano, which is already moving forward and starting with a massive request for layoffs. Now stop: Mittal and the Government have not really understood that we do not want to hear about redundancies".
"It should be remembered that the intervention of the judiciary on Blast Furnace 2 takes place after the fatal accident of Alessandro Morricella which occurred in 2015 - he comments Marco Bentivogli, general secretary of the Fim Cisl – The Tribunal had given 3 months to comply with the prescriptions: the Government of the time had rightly asked for more time, one year. After 4 years nothing has been done and another 16 months are being asked. Now it would be useful to verify why the Commissioners have not done anything (not even challenging the orders) and if the judicial custodian has reported the non-compliance ".
