Decisive hours for Taranto: the review court accepts the appeal, ok to extend Afo2 use

2020-01-07T13:07:21.854Z

A very delicate week that begins for the workers of the former Ilva of Taranto. A protest began this morning by the USB workers Ilva in extraordinary administration who occupied the gates of the Taranto refinery located in the road link between the Ilva and the refinery, at the heavy vehicle gate. The protest arose as a result of the failure to finance the wage supplement for layoffs. Furthermore, the workers of the USB union "ask for the immediate convocation on the DL Taranto to discuss about the proposals that the USB union has presented". Ilva: Court accepts appeal, except blast furnace 2 Averted shutdown of the blast furnace 2 of the former Ilva. The Court of Review of Taranto, in the appeal, accepted the appeal presented by the commissioners of Ilva in extraordinary administration, annulling the decision of the judge Francesco Maccagnano to reject the request for extension of the use of the system. AFO2 was seized in June 2015 after the accident cost the life of the 35-year-old worker Alessandro Morricella, hit by a blaze mixed with incandescent cast iron. The plant is considered fundamental for the steel production cycle. Up to now, for safety reasons, the plant has maintained a minimum production level of 4,800 tons per day. From 8 January, however, the plant changes that will be implemented, according to the timetable of the judicial custodian of the hot area Barbara Valenzano, "will not allow the subsequent resumption of the normal exercise of AFO2". And on January 18, with the completion of the phase of lowering the blast furnace load, the "casting of the salamander" should begin, consisting of drilling the crucible and casting the last spindles. The use of AFO2 remains central both in the industrial plan of ArcelorMittal and in the alternative plan of the government. According to judge Maccagnano, blast furnace 2 is still dangerous and the granting of an additional deadline to comply with the provisions would violate a "precautionary judgment". Of different opinion are the lawyers Angelo Loreto and Filippo Dinacci, who on behalf of Ilva in As argued that, on the contrary, it takes more time to comply with the requirements (including the automation of the pouring field) and that other interventions of safety measures have already been carried out, so much so that no accidents have occurred in the area of ​​the plant in these 4 and a half years. Ilva in As has already signed a contract with the Paul Wurth company to install some equipment (two capping machines and two drilling machines, and two cast iron temperature samplers). The stop of AFO2, according to what has already been communicated by the multinational, would have as a consequence the recourse to extraordinary layoffs for 3,500 workers (including 1,273 for which the ordinary layoffs were extended for another 13 weeks on 30 December) . But the judges' decision will inevitably also have repercussions on the negotiations between the government and ArcelorMittal, which by January 31 will have to find a binding agreement for the revitalization of the Taranto steel sector. Unions to the Government, restore layoffs Fim Cisl, Fiom Cgil and Uilm ask for the intervention of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and ministers Nunzia Catalfo (Labor) and Stefano Patuanelli (Economic Development) to restore wage integration to Ilva workers in extraordinary administration in layoffs at zero hours. The integration, introduced by a law decree in 2016 and confirmed in subsequent years, had been included in the draft of the "Milleproroghe" but then disappeared from the text published in the "Official Gazette", and now in force, due to a problem, as regards apparently, of lack of financial coverage.