ArcelorMittal gives in to the Government's demands and "agrees to all material requests for further engagement regarding the lease and purchase agreement signed in June 2017". An all-round opening that arrived in the morning which heralds an improvement in the offer by the Anglo-Indian group as requested by the Minister of Economic Development, Luigi Di Maio, and by the trade unions.
Based on the latest rumors, the counter-proposal could include both the complete safeguarding of jobs by 2023, with the exception of incentivized exits, and further guarantees on the environmental front aimed at guaranteeing a lower polluting impact through the use of innovative technologies .
In a letter addressed to the extraordinary commissioners, the company says it trusts that "these additional commitments demonstrate to the Government and other national and local stakeholders concerned its full commitment to the responsible management of Ilva".
ArcelorMittal is confident that, with the support of the Government, it will now be possible finalize the agreement with the unions in the next few days so you can quickly complete task”
"During the day we will analyze" the counter-proposals, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio replies remotely but points out, “I'm going ahead with the investigations after the critical issues raised by the Anac. Let it be clear that the two things go together. We recall that on 19 July the Anti-Corruption Authority had highlighted critical issues in the tender that just over a year ago sanctioned the victory of the consortium formed by Arcelor Mittal and Marcegaglia (Am Investco) over that of Acciaitalia made up of Jindal, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti , Arvedi and Del Vecchio.
With reference to Arcelor, Di Maio then underlined: "We are entrusting him with the largest steel mill in Europe which has had a devastating impact on health and we must avoid this", he added. “To avoid it, you need a well-done race”.
Watch out for the unions: "We believe it is time to stop passing the buck and if there are defects in the tender, cancel it, otherwise immediately reopen the union negotiations that have been stopped for two months and say definitively that you want an environmentally friendly Ilva but one that maintains its industrial-steel and steel vocation". This was underlined by the general secretary of the Fim-Cisl, Marco Bentivogli commenting on today's announcement from ArcelorMittal. "Without this clarity - adds the trade unionist - also due to the extension of extraordinary commissioners, uncertainty is slowing down environmental interventions, eliminating all maintenance, which makes the plant increasingly unsafe for workers and losing market shares and financial resources huge".
“We note that today Arcelor Mittal informed the commissioners that it has accepted all requests for further commitments on the environmental level of Ilva and improved the conditions on employment levels. It becomes indispensable at this point, before the judgment of the Government, know the proposals made by Mittal“. This is the comment of the secretary general of Uilm, Rocco Palombella.
