A.Mittal's plan: 3,300 redundancies and referral to Afo5

2020-06-05T19:24:28.574Z

Three thousand three hundred redundancies already in 2020 and postponement of the Afo5 makeover. These are some of the points of the new industrial plan of ArcelorMittal for Ilva that arrived in the evening on the tables of the competent ministers, Stefano Patuanelli (Economic Development), Roberto Gualtieri (Mef) and Catalfo (Lavoro). This was revealed by the secretary of the Fim Cisl Marco Bentivogli. According to the unionist "the plan presented would not be far from the agreement reached last March at the Court of Milan, when the dispute between Ilva in extraordinary administration and ArcelorMittal ended". "We expect a plan in line with the agreement of March 4," Minister of Economic Development Stefano Patuanelli said once again in the morning in a radio interview, but now the tone was of those who have lost patience. The diplomatic incident of June 1 last did not benefit from the always tense climate between Government and Company, when extraordinary commissioners presented themselves for the announced inspection of the plants at the gates of Taranto, and the gates were closed. The top managers who were to accompany them were on vacation for the June 2 bridge. In the course of the day before the secretary of the FIM-Cisl Marco Bentivogli in a post and then the secretary of the Uilm Rocco Palombella in a press release they leaked the figure of 8,200 redundancies that ArcelorMittal would like to implement putting the vast majority of its employees in layoffs . The agreements signed on 4 March instead provided for the company to guarantee the employment levels of 10,700 posts, in line with the commitments of September 2018 signed with the Government and Trade Unions. September is the only agreement that unions recognize and which translates into de facto zero redundancies. "If Mittal has decided to leave he will leave and we will end it here" - the minister points out, not hiding irritation. "We find a way to make it go away. There are clauses, penalties that make it possible" he says in a morning interview with Radio, too, after reiterating that while understanding the difficulties of the supply chain, the Government considers the cuts "unacceptable ". Patuanelli is pessimistic: "I now take it for granted that a plan will come that is absolutely not in line with what we have been discussing for months until March and with what the government expects," he admits. Not to trust Mittal there is also the induced. The contractor Ferplast has withdrawn the workers from the iron and steel plant of Taranto. It is a company with over 200 employees between fixed-term and open-ended contracts, complaining of an 'unsustainable situation' that regards payments: "they promised a deposit that never came". Patuanelli, one of the M5S top ministers, does not hide that he would prefer to have his hands free on the Ilva of Taranto to develop his national strategic steel plan, announced in recent days, a plan that will bring the whole supply chain to a revolution eco-sustainable, already undertaken by other steel mills such as Arvedi. The company, given as a possible purchaser of the Terni steelworks, today bought an advertising page to say that "Institutions, inspect, verify and certify respect for environmental quality in production". In the afternoon, the ex-Southern Minister Barbara Lezzi (M5S) called into question the minister of the economy Roberto Gualtieri (the other minister on the field to resolve the Ilva case with an entry of the state in the steel mill turnaround). "I find the position of Gualtieri incomprehensible that he would prefer to retain Arcelor even though he knew that this would entail disbursements for the State and then obtain a gradual death of the steel pole. With all the environmental disaster that would ensue. Why should we, all Italian citizens, provide money to Arcelor who in less than two years has changed his mind and plans too many times? ".