All the flaws of the Finnish Wartsila
All the latest news on the Wartsila dispute, the Finnish company that announced its intention to cease production at the Bagnoli della Rosandra plant with consequent 450 redundancies to relocate to Finland
September 14 was a critical day for the Wartsila dispute, the Finnish company that on July 14 announced its intention to cease production at the Bagnoli della Rosandra plant, resulting in 451 redundancies to relocate to Finland.
In fact, the 60th day scheduled for the presentation of a mitigation or re-industrialization plan expires. In advance of the deadline, Wartsila sent the mitigation plan to the workers' representatives, Mise, the Ministry of Labor, Anpal, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and Confindustria Alto Adriatico on Monday evening.
No suspension of the procedure but the Finnish multinational claims to be willing to start a speech to reach an agreement on the plan in the next thirty days. At the end of the thirty days, in the absence of an agreement, the dismissals of 451 employees could start. For the local trade unions this is an "inadmissible" plan.
Furthermore, the court will also today express its opinion on the complaint for anti-union conduct by Wartsila filed with the Court of Trieste by the unions who hope that the judge can block the procedure, or in any case lengthen the time. In the meantime, the Region also adhered , pursuant to Article 28 of the Workers' Statute, to the appeal presented by the trade unions against Wartsila's decision to dismantle the Bagnoli della Rosandra production site. The judge "could force the company to start from scratch in the procedure, a step that will allow the government to increase the penalties for relocation" comments Friuli.it .
In addition, the other hearing for the appeal presented by the Region on September 3 is scheduled for September 28th.
In the meantime, "Parliament could soon give the green light to an amendment that would lengthen the procedure from three to six months, keeping the Wartsila issue pending until the beginning of 2023" reports Rainews .
THE MITIGATION PLAN PRESENTED BY WARTSILA
On 12 September Wärtsilä presented the mitigation plan relating to the planned cessation of production in Trieste to the trade union organizations, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Labor, Anpal, the Region and Confindustria, within the timeframe and in the manner provided for by law. Italian.
“The plan – specifies the Finnish group – follows the announcement of 14 July to further optimize the engine production structure at European level. It is divided into three sections: possible reindustrialization paths, social measures and timing. It contains the actions that the company is willing to take, upon agreement, to mitigate the effects of its decision ". "As indicated during the last meeting convened by Minister Giorgetti at Mise, the task of actively seeking potential companies interested in setting up production activities in Trieste was entrusted to an advisor specialized in reindustrialization projects".
IRRESPENSABLE FOR SANDACATES
Twelve months of layoffs to complete orders, 593 layoffs, and not the 450 announced two months ago, including 50 early retirements, professional retraining, redundancy incentives and relocation to other production plants of the group. For the territorial unions of CGIL, CISL and UIL this is an “inadmissible plan. It is exactly what we expected: a divestiture plan that we do not even consider ”, says Marco Relli of Fiom-Cgil.
From Wartsila, Antonio Rodà of Uilm explains to Ansa , “they propose to identify an advisor to reindustrialize the area, but there is no complete element” about it. The redundancy fund for “451 employees on rotation” is proposed as an “offer to close the agreement”, which will be used to complete the orders and “assist in the closure of the site”. There is also talk of “an opening to eventual incentives for voluntary exits, relocation also to the sites scattered around the world of Wartsila. It is a plan – he concludes – that has no prospects for Trieste "
"We ask for the umpteenth time the management of Wärtsilä the immediate suspension of the procedure, it takes time to find a solution that gives work and perspectives", commented the Fim Cisl National Secretary Massimiliano Nobis the plan presented by Wartsila. Nobis asks for "the convening of the table at Mise to discuss high-profile industrial solutions for the Trieste site over a period of at least 6 months", saying he expects "as stated at the ministerial table of last September 7, the parliamentary interventions of the Orlando Ministers and Giorgetti.
And today the unions will battle the Finnish company in court in Trieste to cancel the layoffs and convict Wartsila for anti-union conduct.
THE APPEAL OF FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA
After that, on September 28, a hearing is scheduled for the appeal presented by the Region administered by Massimiliano Fedriga against the current law on relocations where a verification of constitutionality is requested.
"The appeal presented by the Region represents an absolute novelty at the national level in the context of the delocalization procedures of large companies and challenges the choice of Wartsila from a regulatory point of view, the constitutionality of the same procedure" had underlined the regional councilor for work.
THE MOVE OF THE GOVERNMENT
As Il Sole 24 Ore reported today, “the Italian government could ask for the repayment of the public grants of the last 5 years to the multinationals that choose to relocate, without presenting a valid plan for reindustrialisation, relaunch and relocation. This would be one of the points of contact of the two different proposals for the close anti-relocation which the Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti and that of Labor, Andrea Orlando, are working on to avoid other Wärtsilä cases ”.
PUBLIC CONTRIBUTIONS
Wartsila claims to have received only 16.8 million. Of which 8.97 million received and 7.85 still pending, the company consulted by Sole 24 Ore specified last month.
Yet according to the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region it is a total of public contributions for over 11.5 million. To which are added, however, 30 million Sace guarantees, 20 million in aid in 2017 and even 34 million Pnrr requested last April. .
WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
Finally, pending the outcome of the unions' appeal at the Court of Trieste, the procedure then provides that the parties have 30 days to agree on the plan and request changes. If no agreement is found, the procedure is closed and the dismissals start, according to law 223/91.
But there is always the proposal for an amendment on relocation issues under discussion in the Aid ter decree, which should arrive in the Council of Ministers on Thursday evening or Friday. As Repubblica reports, "among the innovations desired by the Minister of Labor there are longer times for the procedure, with the obligation to communicate the intention to close with six months' notice, in the absence of an agreement with the trade unions on the reindustrialisation plan is expected to increase the dismissal contribution provided for by law tenfold (today it has only doubled) and finally the company that decides to leave is asked to repay the subsidies, contributions, subsidies or other economic benefits received from the State in the five years prior to closure ".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/tutte-le-magagne-della-finlandese-wartsila/ on Thu, 15 Sep 2022 06:26:09 +0000.