Alitalia saves territorial continuity with Sardinia. Unions-Ita confrontation resumes: “Company less arrogant but no progress”

“Delicate phase, no progress” but “less arrogance from the company, we continue “. Thus ended the first confrontation between Ita and trade unions on employment and contract, after the reopening of the negotiation interrupted last week and relaunched following street demonstrations by workers and an intervention by the Deputy Minister of the Economy Laura Castelli. Meanwhile, the government is working on the transition: the minister Enrico Giovannini signed a decree that ‘saves’ territorial continuity of air connections with Sardinia, currently entrusted to Alitalia, providing for the continuation of the facility. In short, the services on the routes from Cagliari, Olbia and Alghero to Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate will be able to continue. It is now up to the Region of Sardinia to activate the selection, with an abbreviated procedure, of the carrier to whom to entrust the flights to and from the Island for the next seven months.

In agreement with the European Commission – explains a note from the ministry – the details of the “sudden interruption of service”, envisaged by a 2008 regulation that legitimizes the shortened assignment procedure, have been identified in the termination of Alitalia’s activities. The selection by the Region of Sardinia, in line with the indications of Brussels, will take place by applying the new regime of paid services on which the comparison with the European Commission is being concluded. In parallel, the activities for the assignment of flight services to the ordinary procedure for territorial continuity over a multi-year period will be completed.

Meanwhile, the trade union confrontation continues. The parties at the moment seem to maintain their positions: the Ita plan provides for thehiring 2,800 people, through the application of a company regulation, against i 10,500 workers of the old flag carrier. Three fundamental points remain for the unions: employment, rights and protections, contract, for which agreement on the redundancy fund until 2025, national collective labor agreement and an agreement that guarantees the progressive absorption of all Alitalia workers between now and 2025 in Ita . “It is not possible to make a selection of personnel that puts the most fragile at risk” while on the contract “al 20-23% you can reason “but” less is out of the question, “he said Francesco Staccioli of the Usb, illustrating the situation to the workers at the end of the meeting with the top management of the newco.

“Today’s confrontation has not brought any progress” while “he (the president Ita Altavilla, ed) returned in a less arrogant way and without protocols signed by others ”, underlined the representative of the Usb, warning that“ at the moment we risk signing layoffs ”. Filt Cgil, Fit-Cisl, Uiltrasporti and Ugl Ta they speak of a “delicate” phase in the negotiation and are afraid of having “thousands of people withdrawn” and therefore people without work, without social safety nets and without reaching retirement. A picture that the unions define as “dramatic” for workers, underlining that this is the “hardest” crisis in Alitalia’s history.

The negotiation will continue with a technical discussion always in the Ita headquarters. In the meantime, the trade unions are waiting to be summoned by the Ministry of Labor on the cigs, shock absorber to be defined for Alitalia workers who will not be absorbed by Ita. At the moment the cigs is guaranteed until 22 September next, with a possible renewal until 22 September 2022. However, times are becoming increasingly tight. Ita aims to take off next October 15 and, as a trade unionist points out, “the closer the date approaches, the more there is a need to find an agreement, including the company”.

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