Ita: Alitalia workers in a march block the Rome-Fiumicino motorway
Alitalia, Ita announces a hypothesis of an agreement but meets the opposition of the unions
Alitalia, unions ask for layoffs until 2025
ITA starts with 2,800 employees.
Non-binding proposal formalized for Alitalia assets
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08 September 2021 While the break between company and trade unions is consummated on the age-old issue of the passage of workers from Alitalia to Ita, the Financial Times gives space to news that could drastically change the plan of action and intervention on the fate of the former Alitalia.
According to the financial newspaper, the European Union Antitrust will ask the Italian government to recover the 900 million euros of the bridge loan from the old Alitalia, as they are considered illegal state aid. The Italian government allegedly violated EU state aid rules when it granted Alitalia bailout loans in 2017.
The Financial Times reports the news enriching it with confirmations that come from institutional sources close to the dossier. The decision is expected to be announced tomorrow by the European Commission.
In the meantime, the rift between the company and the unions is consumed. The union
negotiation on Ita is over. "They weigh prejudices that are no longer current", comments the president Alfredo Altavilla who, at this point, will be able to proceed with the recruitment of the 2,800 employees of the company that will take the place of Alitalia, without the need for negotiations with the trade unions.
"In the impossibility of shared solutions - explains the company note - the conclusion of this phase derives from the need to activate the numerous and complex processes to guarantee the operational start on October 15 and to allow the company structures to examine the 30,000 profiles received (over 7,000 of which - equal to 70% of current employees - from Alitalia) who have shown their belief in the Ita project in view of hiring the new company ".
To determine the break, as it turns out, was the problem of the
zero-hour layoff
expiring at the end of the month. The unions are asking for an extension for all Alitalia employees who will not switch to Ita until 2025. There are at least 7,500 workers. A new extension, after the many in the past, which would risk costing taxpayers up to 2 billion euros according to the calculations of the economist Ugo Arrigo. Money that should be added to the more than 10 billion spent by the state to repay Alitalia's losses in the last half century.
The negotiation was accompanied by a
demonstration by workers
: first a procession of cars that proceeded at reduced speed on the road between Fiumicino and EUR and then with a demonstration under the Ita headquarters.
Tomorrow workers' assembly in Fiumicino
Tomorrow new meetings of Alitalia workers will be held after today's lack of agreement between Ita and the unions on the staff of the new company. The assemblies will start at 10.
Giorgetti awaits the decision of the EU Commission
"The route is predetermined, by the decision of the EU Commission and by the laws approved by Parliament. We are waiting, I hope it will be a matter of hours, for the final decision of the European Commission, which was preceded by a comfort letter, which contains the elements on the basis of which, together with the laws approved by Parliament, the extraordinary administration, supervised by the Mise, is moving. These decisions of the European Commission are completely exceptional with respect to Community and national legislation, which basically prevents the State from setting up a company entirely public to operate in the market ". Thus the Minister of Economic Development, Giancarlo Giorgetti, during the question time in the Chamber.