Andrea Innocenti The meeting held at Palazzo Chigi between representatives of the FIM, FIOM, and UILM unions and members of the government failed to produce the solutions requested by the former Ilva workers. After the meeting, the three union groups announced that, starting Monday, October 12, a 24-hour national strike will be called at all of the former company's sites, covering every shift.
The decision comes in the wake of the announcement on October 8th of the total suspension of production activities in the hot-rolling area of the Taranto plant. Operations will be halted and the facilities will be kept in hot-standby mode pending a final decision from the Court of Cassation.
24-Hour National Strike: The Unions' Reasons
Fiom Secretary Michele De Palma explained that the intervention was necessary because "the last meeting did not produce the solutions we had put on the table." The main fear is that, by mid-November, all workers risk being laid off . For this reason, the union has decided to call a 24-hour strike for each shift, deeming it essential to obtain more substantial social safety nets.
Uilm Secretary Davide Sperti added that redundancy payments cannot be the sole objective. While acknowledging the existence of a decree providing for a 70% supplement to the redundancy fund for direct workers, Sperti emphasized that a total closure, including cold-work areas, is expected by November 15th . This is an "unsustainable situation" that the union cannot accept.
Taranto's hot-standby activities and judicial prospects
The plants in the Taranto hot zone will remain on hot standby until the Court of Cassation issues a favorable ruling . In the absence of a favorable ruling, maintenance heating will also be suspended on October 24th, with the final shutdown scheduled for the following day, October 25th, "without any possibility of restarting later."
Decision of the Court of Cassation
The Court of Cassation is the last hope for the Taranto workers: a favorable ruling could allow the plant to reopen for production. However, the critical deadline of October 24th remains an irreversible threshold: if the Court fails to intervene, the closure will become permanent, leaving the area without one of its main sources of employment.
Reactions from regional institutions and the company
Puglia Region President Antonio Decaro expressed concern about the timing of Acciaierie d'Italia's redundancy announcement, deeming it "a factor that exacerbates tensions in an already dramatic situation." Decaro called on the government to intervene to prevent the measure from resulting in a "general temporary shutdown" of the Genoa and Novi Ligure plants by November 15.
The local authorities of Genoa and Novi Ligure, represented by Silvia Salis and Rocchino Muliere, called the prospect of a closure "unacceptable" and denounced an "unsustainable situation for workers, for the cities and for the entire steel industry." At the same time, the presidents of the Liguria Region ( Marco Bucci ) and the Piedmont Region ( Alberto Cirio ) highlighted the gravity of the news for their respective regions, underlining the impact on the entire Italian steel production chain.