The second meeting between Luigi Di Maio and the trade union organizations on the Ilva dispute ended yesterday, 9 July, 40 days after the inauguration of the new ministry. And the unions are on a war footing.
The Minister of Economic Development and Labor first met the acronyms then Arcelor Mittal to discuss one of the most important and most cumbersome dossiers inherited from the previous government. Based on the reconstructions, during both meetings there would have been only one fixed point: Ilva will not close. What does not convince the Government, however, are the environmental plan and the employment plan presented by the buyer. Mittal, according to Di Maio, must do more.
“We await proposals on the side of the employment plan where more needs to be done. Certain guarantees are needed for employment”, commented the minister, adding that also “the environmental plan is not satisfactory, we await proposals from Arcelor. We need guarantees from the company to ensure environmental improvement”.
After the previous meeting of June 18, the trade union associations awaited information and reassurances for the following hours that "it would not proceed unilaterally but involving us, it is a pity that the news reached the press". In fact, the acronyms were confident that the meeting of 9 July would mark a restart of the negotiations after months of stagnation due to the elections and the formation of the new government.
“The minister updated the parties with respect to the decision to extend the commissioner until 15 September, and we – said the general secretary of the Fim-Cisl, Marco Bwentivogli – “we are carrying out an in-depth study of the 23 pages of the Ilva dossier, from a first reading the Minister said that there are some critical issues on which we expect answers from ArcelorMittal. In particular on the timing that must be reviewed and improved, on the technologies used and much more needs to be done in terms of employment. The Government, according to the Minister during the meeting, has the ambition to improve both the environmental and employment plan”.
“Di Maio himself specified that he had asked the commissioners for reassurance that the current functioning of the plant must be guaranteed for the budget year up to September 15, the last date of the extension of the commissioner. The date of 15 September is only the last of the extension, we hope that an agreement can be reached as soon as possible”.
Bentivogli, reiterated that for the Fim it is unacceptable that after 40 days there are still no clear answers on Ilva. “It is a dispute that has been dragging on for six years, the passing of time represents a danger for workers and does not bring any solution for the environment and health. Today the only progress on the environment and health starting from the coverage of the Mining Parks has been obtained at the union table. Doing more is always better, but in the meantime we have to do what is foreseen by the AIA on which we are still behind, far from acceleration”.
"Each day that passes the plant - added Bentivogli - becomes more and more insecure and dangerous, this commissioner management is a disgrace: there are workers who have their harnesses adjusted, since there has been commissioner management accidents have increased and dead, not to mention the environment. If something were to happen, there will be precise responsibilities of the Government, which has given its authorisation.
