Tension is increasingly high in Piombino, where the fate of the Lucchini steelworks blast furnace and its 4 employees now seems sealed: the historic factory will in fact shut down between today and tomorrow. Yesterday's meeting between local institutions and Deputy Development Minister De Vincenti went badly: it seemed that the program agreement to be signed between the government and institutions to save Lucchini but also the steel industry in general was a done deal, instead it is still on the high seas. “The Region has done its part by investing huge resources in the port and in new technologies” – said the Tuscan governor Enrico Rossi – Now it's up to the government to make industrial policy and financing choices. The workers are fighting on this dramatic day when the blast furnace goes out. I feel all the responsibility I have but I am serene. I will sign only if there are precise guarantees”.
Today in Rome, another meeting: theagreement, which Prime Minister Matteo Renzi guaranteed at the press conference, must also ensure the transfer, during the transition period of at least 4 years, of all 4.000 Lucchini workers, both direct and related, through solidarity contracts for the 2.000 direct to be used in other reclamation, environmental and port works and layoffs for others. Meanwhile, everyone received the solidarity of Pope Francis through a video message.
