The Minister of Business, Adolfo Urso, made his presence known early in the day at one of the concierge offices of the Steel mills of Italy, previously known as Ilva of Taranto. His day in the Apulian capital started with a meeting with factory workers who were about to begin their daily grind. Urso was accompanied by the newly appointed commissioner, Giancarlo Quaranta.
The primary issue raised by the workers was the problem of unpaid wages. The workers voiced their concerns about having not received their salaries since November, missing out on their December salary and the thirteenth salary. With no pay in sight even now, the workers were understandably upset.
Urso, surrounded by the workers and local representatives of FdI such as the deputy Dario Iaia and regional councillor Renato Perrini, listened to the growing concerns of the workers. The workers, many of them family men, expressed their desperation, saying, “We feel like crying. How do we explain this to our children? We need a solution.”
Another worker criticized the lack of action taken by previous governments, saying, “Eight governments have done nothing, they just showed up for the sake of appearances.” The worker referred to the dismissal of Lucia Morselli, the former CEO of Acciaierie, as a blessing in disguise and expressed optimism about the appointment of the new commissioner Giancarlo Quaranta.
The workers pleaded for answers, to which Urso responded, “I understand your concerns, I know what this means.” He scheduled a meeting at 7am in the factory’s “small parliament” room with more steelworks workers and trade union delegates. Following this, Urso will chair a summit at the Prefecture at 8.15am with social partners, unions, and businesses, as well as the commissioners of the two extraordinary administrations of Ilva and Acciaierie d’Italia. His day will also include a meeting with the president of the Puglia Region, Michele Emiliano.
