The future of the 76 Sir workers, whose contract expires today, is still up in the air. They have not yet received their dismissal letter and the hope is that the dispute can be resolved in these hours. The Cobas union is pleading the cause of the employees involved in the coal unloading contract, having met yesterday morning with the deputy prefect of Brindisi, Maria Antonietta Olivieri, and the mayor Giuseppe Marchionna.
The Cobas
“There is certainly a territorial network to make Sir change their mind about firing workers and adhering to a proposal for a one-year redundancy fund for cessation of activity – declared Roberto Aprile, provincial secretary of Cobas, following the meeting at the prefecture – Sir’s provocation was to make the workers themselves pay the costs of the redundancy fund through the abolition of meal vouchers and other things. The Sir layoffs represent the tip of the iceberg of the decarbonization process. The Prefecture confirmed to us that their interest is strong, they are exerting a lot of pressure and we are confident in this”. In parallel to the meeting at the Prefecture, one was taking place between Mayor Marchionna and a member of the union coordination, Cosimo Quaranta.
Marchionna’s commitment
“The mayor has taken on a further commitment of responsibility not only towards the SIR workers but towards the entire territory – Quaranta stated – he has shown us an agenda of probable investments to be made in Brindisi, which require further study and agreements. It is clear, however, that it will take time. Time is running out. The mayor will ensure that there are social safety nets or parachutes, which can accompany, even with training courses, these workers towards the inclusion in new investments. Marchionna highlighted the incorrect conduct of the company which, instead of giving a hand to the employees and looking for a solution, even if temporary, turns the other way. This position of the mayor has been very important”. According to Quaranta, the situation is “the direct consequence of a lack of planning of the territory – concluded the trade unionist – since 2019 it was known that the plant was heading towards closure. What was lacking was the foresight to understand that decarbonisation could also be an opportunity”.
