A 4-hour air traffic strike has been announced for Friday 18th June.
The ministerial phase has begun and the workers are still hanging on by a thread of hope: the miracle that would prevent the collective dismissal of some 1,400 workers could still happen.
A few days ago, it was announced that today, 17 June 2021, the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies will meet the social partners for the first time, by videoconference.
Thus began the ministerial phase of the collective redundancy procedure, after the total failure of the trade union phase, which ended after 45 days in absolute silence.
Following this news, a group of desperate workers, the other day, the 15th June to be exact, requested and obtained a hearing in front of the Transport and Labour Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.
The nightmare continues: if by the 30th June, the Italian government does not approve the extension of the redundancy fund until 31fs December 2021, there will be nothing left to do and the feared dismissal will take place.
The extension will give a bit of extra-time to study and plan a potential re-employment of all former Meridiana employees.
The foreign investors are gaining ground in the Italian air traffic, which means reduced revenue for the Italian treasury.
The time requested to the potential liquidators might affect the outcome of this long process and allow the Italian aviation industry to take a breath after the pandemic setback and avoid foreign colonisation.
The workers’ battle is not yet lost! In fact, the Italian unions have called for a four-hour air transport strike (1:00 – 5:00 p.m.) on Friday 18th June.