Ex Ilva, ArcelorMittal announces goodbye. Government convenes the top management of the company. Patuanelli: "We will not allow the closure of the plant"

ArcelorMittal wants to return theex Ilva of Taranto to the State within 30 days. There multinational steel announced the farewell to the extraordinary commissioners with a letter explaining the will to terminate therental agreement with acquisition of the activities of Ilva Spa and of some subsidiaries acquired in 2018.

Minister Patuanelli: "We will not allow closure"
The move – dictated above all, writes the company, by the absence ofcriminal immunity – pushed the government to summon a emergency summit to the Ministry of Economic Development in which they participate, in addition to Stefano Patuanelli, the ministers for the South and for the Environment, Giuseppe Provenzano is Sergio Costa, and also Roberto Gualtieri is Nunzia Catalfo, respectively holders of the Economy and Labor. During the day, then, the summit continued at Palazzo Chigi with the participation of premier Giuseppe Conte. And the prime minister, according to what he learnsAdnkronos, tomorrow, at 3.30 pm, it will convene the company's top management. "For this Government the #Ilva issue has top priority – the Prime Minister tweeted – Already tomorrow afternoon I summoned ArcelorMittal's top management to Palazzo Chigi. We will do everything to protect productive investments, employment levels and to continue the environmental plan ".

At the end of the meeting, the Minister of Economic Development confirmed the declarations made informally before the summit at Palazzo Chigi: "We will not allow the closure of the establishment. The question of the penal shield is a fig leaf, an alibi to hide another problem ". Then he added: "There is no right of withdrawal, as instrumentally written by ArcelorMittal today ”. "It is evident – the minister continues – that the governance that had followed the plants up until now has not worked".

The owner of the Economic Development is then surprised by the "tenor of the letter that arrived today (by ArcelorMittal, ed). Tomorrow, with the Prime Minister, we immediately summoned AncelorMittal to Rome to understand what the current situation is. We demand respect for the documents signed 14-15 months ago. I remember there are around 1300 people already in layoff fund, this shows that the government has always dealt with issues related to the production cycle and the government will take on these problems as always. But one must understand what the prospect is. The perspective must be the respect of the industrial plan that foresees a production of 6 million tons annual with a capacity of up to 8 million. This calls for the government ".

The contract provides for the withdrawal clause for "the tenant"
The ANSA reconstruction is different, claiming to have been able to view the "rent and loan" contract between Arcelor Mittal and former commissioners Ilva (in the modified version compared to the original 2017 and filed in September 2018 at the Milan Chamber of Commerce ), writes that this provides one withdrawal clause for the "tenant" of the establishments. In the text, the right is assured in the event that a legislative provision cancels the liability in whole or in part Dpcm of 29 September 2017 (which is the norm environmental plan agreed with the then Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda) in order to "make the operation of the Taranto plant impossible" or "impossible" the business plan.

Over 10 thousand jobs are at risk
Therefore, exactly one year later, the group is ready to return the keys of the steelworks in which they work 10,700 people. Or at least threatens him with a view "Slimming cure" to which to submit the staff, a hypothesis already aired in recent weeks after the change of managing director, between the legislative framework in constant motion and a steel market in serious crisis that has already led ArcelorMittal to ship in ordinary layoff fund about 1,300 workers until the end of 2019. The arrival of Lucia Morselli, note to the dispute Ast of Terni, had alarmed i labor unions because the new ArcelorMittal guide in Italy has the reputation of behind it head cutting machine.

The order to the workers: "Stop the activities"
And it was she who wrote one letter to employees in which he speaks of "Hard time for everyone" and explain how to manage the suspension of installations. “It is not possible to expose employees and collaborators to potential actions penalties ", says Morselli. And then illustrates the "plan" to freeze the ION system: "It will be necessary to implement a ordinary suspension plan of all productive activities starting from the hot area of ​​the Taranto plant which is the more exposed to risks deriving from the absence of legal protections ", reads the examined letter (read by clicking on the photo on the left) from Ilfattoquotidiano.it which explains that all other activities will also be "progressively" suspended. "It is fundamental that this plan – writes Morselli – is executed in a way sure is structured so that the plants are not damaged and can return to being operational in fast times under the responsibility of the Ilva spa commissioners in extraordinary administration ”. "The essential thing now is to act in the interest of the company and colleagues – he adds – by cooperating in the coming days to support in any way the activities aimed at preserving the value and theintegrity from productive settlements. A detailed action plan will be coordinated by Wim Van Gerven ", chief operation officer of ArcelorMittal Italy.

The reason for the farewell: criminal shield and steel crisis
"According to the contents of the agreement" of October 31, 2018, ArcelorMittal "asked extraordinary commissioners to take responsibility for Ilva's activities and its employees in 30 days from receipt of the communication "of the will of the managers of the former Ilva to leave the iron and steel. Behind the farewell on the one hand the removal of thecriminal immunity – wanted by 17 Senators M5s through an amendment to the Save-Business Decree – but also the (cyclical) crisis of the steel market which, together with production stops at 4 tons in the plant of Taranto, leads ArcelorMittal to lose about 2 million euros per month.

"The contract did not provide for legislative changes"
The contract, in the company's opinion, “provides that, in the event that a new one legislative provision engrave on environmental plan of the Taranto plant to an extent that makes it impossible for it to be managed or implemented industrial plan, the company has the contract law to withdraw from the same contract ". The elimination of the criminal shield from the Save-Business Decree, which had reintroduced it aftertotal abolition in Growth decree, "Justifies" in the opinion of ArcelorMittal "the withdrawal notice".

The blast furnace problem 2
In its letter, the company also explains that the measures issued by the Court of Taranto oblige the extraordinary commissioners of Ilva to complete certain prescriptions by December 13, 2019 on 'blast furnace 2, for which it had been arranged shutdown. "These requirements should reasonably and prudently be applied also to two other blast furnaces of the plant – the company writes – The shutdown would make it impossible for the company to implement its industrial plan, manage the Taranto plant and, in general, execute the contract" . To this is added the seizure of one protruding of the port of the port of Taranto, due to the death of a worker for the collapse of a crane, which causes major problems for months supplying of coal is ferrous material to feed the blast furnaces and in recent weeks had prompted the company to ask to be able to use the port of Brindisi for fuel unloading.

Confindustria: "Damages for the whole country"
"The announcement of the withdrawal of ArcelorMittal from the former Ilva plant will have negative effects on the city of Taranto and on the economy of the entire country with particular impact on employment"He warns Confindustria that "hopes that the conditions can be created to reopen the confrontation with the company that aims to maintain steel production in Taranto".

The industrialists, in a note, argue that "the effects of the measures on the real economy continue to be underestimated and the overall value of sustainability, which must be environmental, economic and social, is not considered". Because of astronomy "common sense, sense of limit and pragmatism must be the guiding principles of a good policy that does not change the rules in the race – as in the case of elimination of the penal shield in favor of the leaders of the multinational – and guarantees to investors, national and foreign, the fundamental condition of legal certainty restoring confidence without creating anxiety ".

The unions: "It's a social bomb"
Unions are worried that, meanwhile, have called for Tuesday morning factory council, at 9.30am. "It means that today the 25 days start for which former Ilva workers and plants will return to extraordinary administration. Among the main reasons, the mess of the Save-enterprises on criminal shield. A masterpiece of incompetence is political fear: do not defuse environmental bomb and join social bomb", Writes the leader of Fim-Cisl, Marco Bentivogli. A "Unacceptable decision", defines it as the secretary of Fiom-Cgil Francesca King David: "We have been strong for some time concerns compared to the implementation of the agreement. The government's behavior is contradictory is unacceptable: with the Count 1 introduced criminal protection in parallel with investments and with Count 2 has canceled the same rule giving the company thealibi to reach this decision ", underlines King David.

Fiom and Uilm: "The government calls us"
"THE'meeting with the government, which we have been asking for weeks, it becomes – says the CGIL metalworking leader – by now very urgent. The company must clarify what is his intentions compliance with the agreement and the investment plan. On the occasion of the meeting scheduled for tonight with the Presidency of the Council, the CGIL will put the issue of the former Ilva as a priority ". The comment of the Uilm secretary is also hard. Rocco Palombella: "One dramatic news but it was in the air, we expected it after the last decisions of the government and Parliament. No company is able to produce in a difficult context, in a heavy climate having all against, from the government to the region up to the Municipality of Taranto ". Now, he adds, a "dramatic phase with an uncertain outcome opens up with the strong risk of." block environmental remediation causing an ecological bomb, in addition to the loss of 20 thousand seats of work". "As already happened – he continues – Italy loses a important piece of one of the most important sectors of our manufacturing production, the same steel industry that the government declared was essential for our country. Once again politics and institutions have followed apopulist wave and not the real interests of the country, workers and citizens. So the appeal to the government and the Parliament: "They must assume their responsibilities and must remedy a disaster that they themselves have caused and that it is about to break down on all the Italian establishments of the former Ilva, not only in Taranto ”.

Previous Article

Ex Ilva, here is ArcelorMittal's farewell letter: "Disruptive impact from the elimination of the criminal shield". And threatens the state to cause