Natuzzi: no agreement reached – talks on the protocol setting out commitments to look to the future after the crisis have broken down
The failure to reach an agreement between the company and the trade unions is complicating the post-crisis recovery, raising serious concerns for the workers and the local community affected.
There is yet another row surrounding Natuzzi. The agreement on the protocol setting out commitments to try and look beyond the crisishas fallen through. And there is a clash between the company and the trade unions.
The clock struck half past one in the morning when the meeting broke up without any concrete outcome. After half a day of negotiations, fine-tuning and discussions on the document setting out the company’s next steps in black and white, during this transitional phase following the agreement on furloughs and redundancies and the launch of procedures for a negotiated resolution to the crisis. The main point of contention centred on the temporary relocation to Romania of two lower-to-mid-range production lines: an issue that had already emerged in recent weeks but which the trade unions had consistently opposed.
In the five-page memorandum, Natuzzi undertook to bring those production operations back to Italia once the current crisis and liquidity shortage had been overcome. The Ministry of Economic Development, through the Under-Secretary Fausta Bergamotto, speaks of ‘a missed opportunity to support the group’s recovery: the Ministry has played its part to the full by fostering dialogue and working to find a balance. Our objective remains to safeguard Natuzzi and protect jobs”.
In a statement , the Santeramo in Colle-based company expresses “regret at the failure to reach an agreement which would have been – as they write – a valuable tool for continuing the dialogue and tackling the company’s restructuring process in a constructive and responsible spirit”. The group also emphasises “its willingness to accept almost all of the changes proposed by the trade unions” and reiterates the “need not to further delay the restructuring measures required to secure the company’s future and launch the restructuring plan”. For their part, CGIL, CISL and UIL speak of ‘significant progress made during the discussions’ but attribute the failure to agree on the protocol ‘to the persistence of unacceptable elements, such as the closure of further plants – albeit declared by the company to be temporary – and the relocation of production abroad’. Citing the ‘seriousness of the situation’, they jointly confirm their commitment to continuing the discussions ‘to secure a genuine industrial plan that guarantees – as they write – investment, employment, the protection of Italia’s industrial base and the future of the upholstered furniture sector’. At this point, a new phase of possible industrial action will begin.
The protocol also set out the commitments of the relevant institutions, such as the Puglia and Basilicata regions, to develop active policies for the professional reintegration of workers who had left the company, as well as to initiate procedures for the designation of the Alta Murgia area as a crisis zone, a district comprising over 600 businesses but not yet formally recognised.
