General strike at Ilva: 24-hour stoppage against 4,000 redundancies

A 24-hour strike is underway at all Ilva plants, called by the trade unions Fim, Fiom, Uilm, and Usb. The protest, with pickets at the gatehouses and assemblies, primarily involves the plants in Taranto, Genoa Cornigliano, and Novi Ligure. The action coincides with today's meeting at the Ministry of Economic Development, where the industrial plan of the buyer Am Investco—controlled by ArcelorMittal and with participation from the Marcegaglia Group—is being discussed. The plan foresees 4,000 redundancies, 3,300 of which are concentrated in Taranto.

The unions strongly contest the conditions of the plan. Workers who transfer to Am Investco would lose the protections of Article 18, would be rehired under the "increasing protections" contract of the Jobs Act, and would have no continuity in either their economic treatment or their seniority, with an estimated reduction of 6-7 thousand euros in their paychecks. The government, through Deputy Minister Bellanova, has guaranteed that no one will be left without protections and that today's meeting starts from a proposal with a higher cost per worker than the initial 50,000 euros.

The crisis of the Ilva steel plant in Taranto, the largest steelmaking hub in Europe, has deep roots. The problem officially began in 2012, when the company was placed under extraordinary administration due to enormous financial difficulties and, above all, severe environmental pollution that has heavily impacted the health of Taranto's population, leading to numerous legal proceedings. The Riva family, the owners at the time, was at the center of investigations for environmental disaster.

In an attempt to save the strategic company and its jobs, in 2014 the Renzi government passed the first "save-Ilva decree," converted into law, which aimed to reconcile production and environmental protection. The sale process concluded with the plant being assigned to the Am Investco consortium (ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia). The industrial plan presented by this new entity, which includes significant redundancies and a drastic worsening of contractual conditions, represents the final act of this long saga and has triggered today's union reaction, also supported by local institutions.