The workers of the former Ilva in Taranto and Genoa are on an indefinite strike, as a reaction to the Government’s plan which – according to unions and workers – risks marking the end of production activities and putting thousands of jobs at risk.
The mobilization in Taranto began at midday yesterday, with the proclamation of the strike “until further notice” by the trade unions Fim, Fiom, Uilm and Usb. The objective: to obtain a single discussion table at Palazzo Chigi and the withdrawal of the government plan.
During the night, workers and union delegates maintained garrisons inside and outside the plant and along state road 100 (Taranto-Bari), blocking the traffic of trucks destined for supplies. Bonfires and fireworks were lit to resist the cold and give visibility to the protest.
The unions denounce “the silence of the institutions” and define the plan presented as a real “closing path“, jeopardizing not only employment, but the social fabric of many families. Even in the Genoese plant of Cornigliano the mobilization is strong: thousands of workers, together with delegates from other companies such as Ansaldo Energia and Fincantieri, symbolically occupied strategic points of the city. After an assembly in front of the gates, the procession reached the “Cristoforo Colombo” airport and the A10 motorway, blocking traffic.
Because the mobilization doesn’t stop
The unions insist on some key points:
In recent months the steel group – according to what has been reconstructed by the various social parties – has come under pressure for economic, regulatory and environmental reasons. The current plan would envisage decarbonisation and a strong industrial reorganisation, but for workers it risks meaning layoffs, a reduction in production and a loss of competitiveness.
Meanwhile the Government
Since last summer, Minister Adolfo Urso has proposed a “decarbonisation” plan for Ex Ilva, with the declared aim of transforming the factories into “green steel” production sites. The project involves the construction of three electric ovens in the Taranto plant and one electric oven in the Genoa-Cornigliano plant. New pre-reduction plants (“DRI”) were also planned in Taranto, necessary to produce the raw material with which to fuel the electric furnaces.
According to the initial plan, the transition was to be completed in approximately 8 years, guaranteeing production continuity, maintenance of employment levels and production of up to 8 million tonnes of steel per year. After the last round of negotiations, however, a faster version of the project emerged – 4 years instead of 8 – which according to the unions drastically reduces margins and certainties.
The trade union organizations – FIOM‑CGIL, FIM‑CISL, UILM and USB – have defined the government’s plan as “a death plan” for the plant and for thousands of workers, denouncing that decarbonisation risks resulting in the closure of the hot area – which today employs thousands of workers – replaced by highly automated technologies, with limited guarantees of reabsorption.
The unions highlight how the expected impact on employment – up to 6,000 redundancies and massive use of redundancy payments – makes the plan unsustainable in its current form. They also criticize the lack of a serious commitment to immediate investments, real reconversion and the protection of employment in the medium term: for them, it is not a relaunch, but a step towards the dismantling of the steel group.
The result is a climate of strong uncertainty: investors – national and international – seem to be watching with caution, and for the moment no concrete option has offered sufficient certainty.
“Taranto calls” to the European Parliament
Today Taranto callsthe investigative documentary by Rosy Battagliawill be presented to the European Parliament: ten years of testimonies among the voices of the Taranto parents, the citizens of the Tamburi district, the doctors and paediatricians who have been following the most exposed children for years, the workers and the trade unions, the environmental and health law experts, the parish priests who live in the heart of the community and local institutions such as the Environment Councilor of the Municipality of Taranto, Fulvia Gravame.
Taranto calls focuses on two fundamental rights that concern every European citizen: the right to know and the right to a healthy environment.
The film brings to Europe what the news too often – even these days – avoid addressing: the daily reality of those who live next to high-impact industrial plants and the weight that political choices, postponements and opacity continue to place on the territories.
We talk about it here: #TarantoChiama: the documentary investigation that pierces the veil on one of the most polluted areas on Earth
