The economic support decision was announced by Minister of Enterprise Adolfo Urso at a press conference following the Cabinet meeting. Minister Urso noted that the issue of severance payments was also discussed and that additional resources are needed to protect workers.
The decree also includes provisions to establish an authorization commission for “significant foreign investments” and to allow the Region of Puglia to use budget surpluses to support the steel industry.
Puglia Region's resources can also be used
Urso stated that these regulations extend the first Ilva decree issued earlier and that regional budget surpluses could be used to support the steel industry. Referring to the recent developments in Taranto, he added that the region's available resources could be used to mitigate the effects of the seizure of blast furnace 1.
Urso announced a meeting with the newly elected mayor of Taranto, Piero Bitetti, on June 18 and emphasized that all parties, especially local authorities, are expected to “act responsibly”.
New plan for continued production
It is reported that the decree is the second economic intervention following the 100 million euro bridge loan allocated to the company in May. It was stated that new steps will be taken to ensure the continuity of production following the company's financial difficulties and the accident in Taranto on May 7, which took blast furnace 1 out of operation.
In this context, the government plans to restart the currently operating blast furnace 2 and blast furnace 4.
The scope of the redundancy fund has been expanded
The company's extraordinary management has applied to the Ministry of Labor to expand the scope of the redundancy fund application. In addition to the 3,062 workers previously authorized, this number has been increased to 4,050. 3,500 of these workers are based in Taranto.
On the other hand, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Labor with the participation of representatives of the Fim, Fiom and Uilm unions. Making a statement after the meeting, Fiom-Cgil National Coordinator Loris Scarpa stated that 200 million euros is insufficient for extraordinary management and restart investments and called on the government to offer permanent solutions.
Fim Cisl National Secretary Valerio D'Alo described the meeting as “a mediation to understand the current conditions”, while Uilm National Secretary Guglielmo Gambardella repeated that “a specific legal regulation is needed for issues such as employment management, early retirement and compensation”.
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