Mirafiori closes, Ilva without a future, Italian industry suffers but is off the political radar: the turning point invoked by Bentivogli

mirafiori closes for a month after profit warning Stellantis, the Ilva he finds no peace and if he has a future it will be a mess. The wholeItalian industry is losing ground but what is more alarming is that the industrial crisis remains off the political radar. The alarm was sounded the other day in Il Foglio by the former general secretary of the metalworkers of the Cisl, Marco Bentivogli, who, after a detailed analysis of the state of our industry, writes: "Our country has four critical issues: bureaucracy and inefficiency of the public administration, small size of companies, difficulty in accessing technological innovation, low average skills". This is not a small thing but "to address these issues - observes Bentivogli - it would take the courage of reforms, still postponed despite the PNRR” but politics is looking elsewhere. But, in addition to politics, the unions should also do their part and they are not doing it. “Low productivity, high working hours and low wages: Italy is still, among the major OECD economies, the country with the most significant drop in real wages, 6,9% lower in 2024 compared to pre-pandemic levels. One more reason – is the wise conclusion of the former trade unionist – to quickly and properly renew the national contracts of the sector and spread the bargaining of productivity and integrative innovation”.