[Bologna] Letter to the comrades of the IIA plant in Bologna • CARC Party

On June 3, an open assembly was held in the IIA square in the presence of the striking workers, which saw the participation of environmental organizations and the network of solidarity researchers who reported the GKN experience and made themselves available to exercise control over the recovery plan and collectively develop the necessary measures.

In recent days the sale of the IIA shares of Leonardo and Invitalia to Seri Industrial has been announced, with a dynamic that suggests full confirmation of what the workers had told us in this interview (“they come like vultures, these who suddenly become enlightened entrepreneurs just to get their hands on this money, which is easy money, for which they will not have to answer, and then they will leave the company in the next few years in exactly the situation in which they found it, or rather worse”). The gang war rages on the workers’ skin between the PD group and the Fratelli d’Italia group of the Larghe Intese who, like the thieves of Pisa, fight during the day and steal together at night.

In this context, we publish this contribution from one of our sympathizing comrades as a stimulus to struggle and discussion. As the comrade says “the relaunch of the company only comes from us workers, from entering the order of ideas of no longer being passive spectators in disputes”.

Exercise workers’ control over everything! Mobilize technicians and committees to develop the company’s relaunch! 10, 100, 1000 open and convergent assemblies in front of the buildings of city power and in places where the class struggle rages: from Don Bosco Park to universities! Reject the line of asking for work with hat in hand, the working class can lead the entire movement, the GKN demonstration on October 22, 2022 taught us this!

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“Dear comrades, after the town meeting held at the beginning of June and due to the new implications that have affected the IIA dispute in recent weeks, I take this opportunity, as a worker and as a FIOM member, to write on this flyer some of my reflections.

1. Don’t wait for a new ownership plan to begin imposing the relaunch of the company

It must be done here and now, blow by blow. For example: it is necessary that the topic of hiring is addressed and oriented by workers to start getting answers from the company, whatever mask it wears. Hiring must be aimed at bringing professionalism to the department and recovering technical figures who have been missing during years of speculation. Exercise workers’ control over everything!

Furthermore: the workers know how the company has been dismantled over the years and that commitment made at the meeting to ask for justification of the destinations that took millions of public capital is followed up by coming out publicly through the trade unions, naming names and surnames!

2. The open assembly was a small step in the right direction: we must persist!

It is important to materialize the collaboration with the technicians who have offered to build a bottom-up relaunch plan together with the workers or to verify those that will arrive. Workers must build and impose recognition of their ability to analyze the causes and technical and practical solutions to achieve an effective relaunch. It is therefore necessary to relaunch the mobilization, broaden the experience of the citizen assembly and that the dispute acquires its presence in the initiatives of struggle in the territory (this is another great lesson of the GKN, in these days for example the Don Bosco Park is under siege !), to reiterate the vital contribution that IIA and the working class can make for the community.

3. The Chinese don’t… and the PD does?!

A fact is that for now irons in the fire have been put on the table by the possible partnership of two Chinese industrial groups that we do not know. However, we know the government policy that China uses towards its own companies by injecting capital and restructuring: why exclude them regardless? On the other hand, Meloni and the Democratic Party, however, we know them well: in all the years in which they were in government of the country and the region they never made a plan to relaunch local public transport, on the contrary they signed the agreements EU that tie the hands of Local Administrations, have promoted the privatization of large companies and malfeasance, have supported Italy’s entry into the war and Leonardo’s investments in the war sector (until last year Leonardo’s CEO was Alessandro Profumo of the PD and the President of the Leonardo Foundation is Luciano Violante also of the PD!).

4. Enough delegations, let’s take our future and that of the country into our own hands!

Ultimately the truth is that the relaunch of the company only comes from us workers, from entering into the mindset of no longer being passive spectators in disputes, that the relaunch comes from the workers’ organisation, even regardless of the union. Maybe now you don’t breathe a climate of trust, but we need to force workers to speak directly on stages, at local assemblies: all this not only to try to resolve these situations, but because we can neither run away nor think that someone will solve our problems . There are hands outstretched towards the workers and only we workers can take them. We can make a difference as workers, as men and women.”