Bruno, an electrician for Hitachi, is forced into a wheelchair due to an accident but the Japanese company adapts its Reggio Calabria headquarters for him
REGGIO CALABRIA – It all started with a back problem, which later turned out to be more serious than expected, so much so that it ultimately forced him into a wheelchair.
A condition that for him risked meaning the end of all work. Because the protagonist of this story – Bruno, 52 years old – is an electrician from Hitachithe Japanese multinational leader in the supply of railway services and products, which has one of its main Italian offices in Reggio Calabria.
This story, however, had a completely different outcome: the happy confrontation between the union and the company allowed Bruno in recent days not only to return to Hitachi, but also to return to his job as an electrician.
«Hitachi had already made some progress regarding the accessibility of the headquarters» says Lino Messineo, Hitachi Reggio Calabria manager. Of the turnstiles at the entrance installed in the Covid season, for example, one was already set up for wheelchair access and so the access stairs to the canteen already had a platform. «Hitachi then continued by creating a bathroom on the ground floor, available to Bruno, near his work area. And it set up a workstation for him, which would allow him to work, with a counter that raises and lowers and an ergonomic chair, already ordered, which will soon arrive at the office. Now Bruno will not be able to work directly on the boxes, on the trains, but he will be able to work on all those components that are assembled later on the vehicle – says Messineo – The evacuation plan has also been updated”.
A result that was not to be taken for granted, agrees Luca Borghetti, Rsu Fiom Cgil Calabria, and which makes the Reggio plant a pioneer among the Hitachi offices in Italy. And that doesn’t mean the record stops here.
«In an extremely positive climate, thanks also to the sensitivity demonstrated by the HR Management Manager Assante Antonio and the Plant Manager Franci Paolo of the Hitachi plant in Reggio Calabria, we managed to guarantee employment continuity for our colleague Bruno, a metalworker forced to return to I work in a wheelchair. This is a concrete demonstration – say Messineo and Borghetti, together with the secretary of Fiom Cgil Calabria Umberto Calabrone – of how the values of inclusion, respect and valorisation of the skills of each individual employee can be put in a position to express themselves.
The adaptation of infrastructures and workstations, the adoption of assistive technologies and specific training are actions that go beyond the simple compliance with regulations, they represent a real commitment to creating a fair working environment accessible to all. This is an example of how constant discussion between the parties can bring maximum benefit not only to individual workers, but to the entire corporate community.”
«Bruno’s story is a testimony to how, with the right attention and the right resources, it is possible – the trade unionists further comment – to break down barriers, not only architectural ones, and guarantee equal opportunities for everyone. Too often companies take refuge behind the lack of suitability for work to remove workers in difficulty, we hope that this concrete example in Hitachi can inspire other working realities”.
