Ilva's supply chain comes to a halt. Aigi, the Association of AdI and General Industries, has sent the unions the letters relating to the procedure collective dismissal which will involve over 2.500 workers. The unions reacted immediately, calling for a meeting with the employers' organizations.
The dismissal letter: "An extreme and painful act"
"It is a extreme and painful act, which we would never have wanted to resort to, explained the President of Aigi Nicola Convertino In a letter, he described it as "a necessary and unavoidable act, a direct consequence of the sudden deadline set for the closure of the hot zone, already in October. We have reached this point due to the total lack of reasonable planning that could have made our companies safe."
“A factory of this size (like the former Ilva, ed.) would have deserved a different fate – continues Convertino in the letter – One of the largest steel mills in Europe risks dying today not on the field of a great industrial battle, but rather to die out from consumptionThis epilogue does not take place in the context of an already operational reconversion plan, nor with new factories already built or with thousands of workers supported towards new jobs, but through a mere ninety-day countdown". This was stated by the president of the Aigi in the letter sent to the unions, specifying that the association "is not looking for a culprit to be exposed in the public square, but demands that each institution have the courage to consider the consequences of its own choices. We have all failed."
“Ilva is not a neighborhood factory – the letter continues – but rather a strategic industrial infrastructure for Italy, essential for manufacturing chains and the country's autonomy in steel production. A matter of this magnitude cannot be managed by chasing deadlines from decree to decree and from hearing to hearing. An industrial transition takes years, yet today we find ourselves discussing how to prevent an entire production system from plunging into the abyss in the space of a few weeks.
Unions request urgent meeting with Confindustria, Confapi, and Aigi
In the meantime, just to talk about the employment effects that it The Milan Court of Appeal has ordered the closure of the hot-works area (steelworks and blast furnaces) can have on contracting and related companies, Fim, Fiom, Uilm and Usb they asked a “urgent” meeting” to Confindustria Taranto, Confapi Taranto and Aigi.
The aim is to “analyze the critical issues generated in the Procurement and Inducement system of Acciaierie d'Italia in AS following the decree of the Court of Appeal of Milan which provides for the suspension of the activities of the hot area in the Taranto plant within 90 days".
“While waiting for the meeting at Palazzo Chigi scheduled for next September 8th, and the hearing scheduled for September 9th, in which the request for suspension will be discussed, “we believe it is necessary to start a discussion with the employers in order to guarantee a future for workers and for the contracting companies themselves”, state the unions, according to which “it is necessary to remember that among the issues concerning industrial, employment and environmental prospects brought to the attention of the Government and therefore of the discussion that will take place at Palazzo Chigi there is also the issue of the contract”.
On Tuesday 8 September, three meetings are also scheduled at the former Ilva Palazzo ChigiThe first with Apulian and local institutions, the second with the national associations of businesses, crafts, and cooperatives, and the third with the trade unions FIM, FIOM, UILM, USB, UGL, and Federmanager for company managers.
Urso: "We hope for a binding proposal from the Italian consortium."
The Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy had also spoken about the future of the former Ilva this morning, Adolfo Urso, on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio. "We will see if the expression of interest from the Italian consortium, which seems significant to me because they joined it 14 important steel companies in our country, will materialize – as we all hope – with a binding proposal, which the commissioners will have to evaluate by comparing it with the others that may be submitted or remain on the table,” the minister said, explaining that the Italian consortium has submitted “an expression of interest like others, and the commissioners are evaluating it, having set a deadline for the submission of what will be the Industrial Plan. We have convened the unions, local authorities, and businesses for a full immersion meeting next Tuesday at Palazzo Chigi.”
In parallel, always from Cernobbio Emma Marcegaglia, president and CEO of Marcegaglia Holding, spoke of "a complex situation." "We have submitted a non-binding expression of interest and are conducting due diligence together" with the 14 Italian steel entrepreneurs "to understand what is the possible project that we can carry forward. We are still in a interlocutory phase, we are studying a dossier that is in any case very complex", clarified Marcegaglia regarding the interest in the former Ilva. "The situation is not simple, because we're faced with a Court of Appeal ruling that effectively ordered the closure of the hot-works area, which was essentially the heart of Ilva, where most of the direct and indirect workers were located. The question is what can be done with these restrictions; you also have to be very careful Because without the hot-rolled part, all we can do today is import semi-finished products, because they can't be found in Europe. We need to be very careful that Europe doesn't impose limits on slab imports, which would kill any Ilva project."
