Ex-Ilva, worker falls 10 metres to his death. Landini: 'Accurate responsibilities'

A worker from the cleaning company Gea Power, Loris Costantino, aged 36, died after falling from a floor in an Agglomerate line at the former Ilva plant in Taranto. The worker was cleaning a conveyor belt when he fell from a height of more than ten metres, sustaining serious injuries to his chest and arm that caused his death.

The Taranto Public Prosecutor's Office seized the area of the Agglomeration where the accident occurred. An autopsy will be performed on Costantino's body. The Taranto public prosecutor, Eugenia Pontassuglia, has opened an investigation for negligent manslaughter against persons yet to be identified. The area seized is part of a disused area of the steel plant.

The national secretariats of Fim, Fiom and Uilm have proclaimed 24 hours of strike starting today for direct and contract workers of the former Ilva following the accident. The unions "express their deep condolences" for the worker's tragic death. "The loss of human life on the employment front," they say, "represents an open wound in our country and requires immediate and decisive intervention. We have repeatedly denounced the dangerous condition of the plants and workplaces as a result of the lack of maintenance". The metalworkers' unions consider it "unacceptable that people continue to pay with their lives for the consequences of an ineffective management that neither guarantees safety nor prevents hazardous situations. This is why we call for the overcoming of the commissarial phase with the definition of an ownership structure in which the State holds the majority and the management".

"The death of Loris Costantino, a 36-year-old worker at the Gea Power contracting company, and Claudio Salamida, a 47-year-old worker at the former Ilva on 12 January, are tragedies foretold, for which the state of neglect that we have been denouncing for some time and in which the Taranto steelworks area finds itself is responsible. The responsibilities are precise: for too long there has been an almost total lack of maintenance and adequate controls on the plants and production processes. Do not call them accidents'. This was stated in a note by the general secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini. "I express all our closeness to Loris Costantino's family and our indignation for this umpteenth tragedy. All our support to the workers of the former Ilva and the contracting firms, who have immediately declared 24 hours of strike and who have the right to demand immediate and concrete answers," Landini concluded.

'Faced with yet another workplace tragedy at the former Ilva plant in Taranto, our condolences and sympathy to the family of the deceased worker are combined with extreme concern: it is not acceptable to continue counting victims in workplaces. It is clear that in too many cases there continues to be a lack of proper maintenance, strict controls and investment in safety. The protection of life must be an absolute priority, with no exceptions and no postponements'. The Cisl Daniela Fumarola leader wrote this on social media.