The unions: 'From Monday, 24-hour national strike at the former Ilva'

From Monday, a 24-hour national strike will be proclaimed in all Ex Ilva plants. The unions announced it at the end of the meeting at Palazzo Chigi with the government by Alfonso AbagnaleThe point (by Alfonso Abagnale) A cold shower for Ex Ilva. Acciaierie d'Italia announced a shutdown of the Taranto, Genoa and Novi Ligure plants on the same day as the meeting at Palazzo Chigi between the government and the unions on the company's future. During the meeting, the Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Alfredo Mantovano, indicated that the government intends to bring to the next Council of Ministers a decree-law containing social protections for workers and aiming at a layoff fund (Cassa integrazione) not for the closure of activities, but with a view to continuity. The government's goal is green steel production with a DRI plant and electric furnaces, provided it is within the framework of a credible industrial plan, the undersecretary explained. Meanwhile, starting tomorrow, October 9, all production activities of the hot area plants of the former Ilva steelworks in Taranto will be suspended, Acciaierie d'Italia in As states in a note sent to the prefect, local authorities and law enforcement. The decision is linked to compliance with the order of the Court of Appeal of Milan of July 27, following the rejection, notified on October 5, of the request to suspend enforcement. The company is also requesting social safety nets. The plants will be kept in "hot stand-by" mode pending the decision of the Court of Cassation. But "in the absence" of a favorable ruling, the hot stand-by will also be "suspended" on October 24, with the definitive shutdown of the hot area by October 25, "without any possibility" of subsequent restart. "A few hours after the government's meeting with the unions, Acciaierie d'Italia hastens to announce the activation of the layoff fund for workers with a timing that has the sole effect of aggravating the tension in an already dramatic situation and that risks falling only on the workers and the territories where they work," warns the president of the Puglia Region, Antonio Decaro, hoping that the government "can avert this scenario." Furthermore, Adi also announced that by "next November 15" the "general temporary stop" of the former Ilva plants in Genoa and Novi Ligure will take place. "The announcement of a shutdown is completely unacceptable," thunder the mayors of Genoa and Novi Ligure, Silvia Salis and Rocchino Muliere. "It is an unsustainable prospect for the women and men workers, for Genoa and Novi Ligure and for the entire steel supply chain of our country," Salis denounces. "The announced closure of the former Ilva plants in Cornigliano, Novi Ligure and Racconigi represents very serious news, not only for Liguria and Piedmont, but for the entire Italian steel supply chain, strategic for the country's industrial future," say Marco Bucci, president of the Liguria Region, and Alberto Cirio, president of the Piedmont Region. Entering Palazzo Chigi for the meeting with the government, the unions made it clear that the closure of Ex Ilva is "unacceptable." "The workers have shown a great sense of responsibility, so we should avoid having the price of choices and mistakes that are not the workers' being dumped on all the women and men workers of Ex Ilva," said the general secretary of Fiom-Cgil, Michele de Palma. For Usb, a country's industrial strategy "is not decided by the judiciary." "The government is very skilled at moving within this kind of narrative; we know that this has become a great, nice alibi for not talking about the real problems and for not talking about what is happening right now in Taranto," underlined the member of Usb's national executive, Sasha Colautti. All rights reserved © Copyright ANSA