Ninety days to halt the hot zone of the former Ilva steelworks in Taranto. The Milan Court of Appeal's decree comes as a thunderbolt to the steel dispute, precisely at the most delicate stage—negotiations for the sale of the group's assets—and on the eve of the confrontation between the government and trade unions. This decision alters the industrial and employment landscape of the Taranto hub, which is currently attracting bids from the American fund Flacks Group and the Indian group Jindal.

The judges of the Specialized Corporate Section upheld the appeal filed by ten members of the Tarantini Parents' Association and a child with a rare genetic mutation, ruling that the operation must be suspended within three months unless "all asbestos still present in the plant is removed" and "the necessary measures are adopted to reduce particulate emissions to within safe limits, with reference to the authorized production scenario of 6 million tons per year."

The government's reaction was swift: an emergency meeting was held at Palazzo Chigi, the Council of Ministers swiftly approved a new €100 million loan to maintain the operational continuity of the refrigeration sector, and the confirmation of the highly tense meeting with the social partners planned. Concern for job security is growing rapidly among the unions, while the dispute is becoming a crucial test for the future of Italy's basic industry.

The Lombardy magistrates' decision also impacts the ongoing sale . Faced with a halt imposed by the judges, which required the complete remediation of over two tons of residual asbestos and a drastic reduction in fine particulate matter, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni convened her cabinet to assess the impact of a measure that affects the plants where the core workforce works. Palazzo Chigi then confirmed the allocation of a further tranche of the loan to ensure the company's operational continuity while awaiting the finalization of the sale of the cold-processing area.

The ruling "is a fact that overturns a phase of the transfer that was quite advanced, I would say close to being finalized with the other party, and which at this moment completely changes the conditions of the matter," said Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti.

The government's strategy seeks to secure the industrial sector unaffected by the immediate lockdown by recalibrating the sales structure. Tomorrow's meeting with the unions becomes the forum for seeking guarantees for thousands of workers who are experiencing the resurgence of unemployment or extended layoffs. The metalworking unions, already on high alert, are forcefully demanding that environmental and public health protections not translate into yet another social dismantling.

The reasons given by the Milan Court, led by Magistrate Marianna Galioto, paint a peremptory picture: the presence of asbestos embedded in the walls of the cowls and the inadequacy of PM10 measures in the 6 million ton per year scenario do not allow for further exemptions or extensions. The future of the facility remains open regarding its sale, with discussions between the American fund Flacks Group and the Indian group Jindal. Flacks has announced the Flacksider project, developed with Danieli and Metinvest, for a new low-emission steelworks with electric furnaces and DRI technology. The matter now reaches the government-union table, which must address a crucial step for the future of the plant, its workers, and the entire supply chain associated with the Taranto steelworks.

(Unioneonline)

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