Sulcis powder keg. And in San Gavino things are no better. Employment disputes are mounting and are in danger of exploding, leaving hundreds of jobs on the ground.
Portovesme Srl on one side, Eurallumina on the other: dozens of the helmets of the struggling workers are seen again, while there doesn't seem to be any glimmer of light on the horizon. Hanging in the balance are 1,400 payrolls linked to Glencore, directly or indirectly, and 400 dependent on Rusal.
The Swiss multinational froze everyone on Friday when the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy closed the doors to the proposal on the price of energy, which in any case is stable and no longer unsustainable: a tax credit for the coming months, with sums to be defined. Meanwhile, production is at a standstill, employees are on layoffs in shifts. The unions fear that the company's rigidity has an ulterior motive. "All doubts remain about the real intentions of the Swiss multinational Glencore regarding the continuation of the production of zinc and lead in the two sites of Portoscuso and San Gavino," said the secretary of the CGIL Sardinia Fausto Durante. The fear is that the announced transition from the production of lead-zinc to that of lithium for electric batteries hides a heavy personnel cut. The San Gavino plant would be cut off from the operation: almost 200 employees.
In Portoscuso some workers chained themselves to the turnstiles. Since Friday, the foundry has been sleeping in a tent on the roof. And today the bishop celebrates mass there, among the workers.
For 14 years, on the other hand, Eurallumina has been stopped. The restart of the plants is always and only announced. It should be linked to the arrival of the gas, which still doesn't exist. The meeting between the unions and three regional councilors in the week that has just ended did not lead to anything.
«The Region wants all Sardinians to be placed on the same level and to be able to enjoy an equalized energy tariff. Likewise, we want workers to be able to resume their position within the company as soon as possible. For this reason, we are urging the national government to reopen the crisis table on Eurallumina, also in light of the counter-deductions sent by the company", said the councilors Marco Porcu (Environment), Anita Pili (Industry) and Ada Lai at the end of the meeting (Work). The workers, who were outside the Amphitheater hall in Cagliari, left with nothing in hand. And so much anger inside.
(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)