The chairman’s words came after Italian minister for Labour Maroni criticised his own government for not doing anything much to save the airline, showing he is afraid the airline will be sold off for a price below its real worth.
The Alitalia chairman added that there is only one month left to save the company. In this one month a new plan for the airline must be presented and it must be ready by 10 May, when the annual general meeting is held.
But, he added, there are many difficulties involved. The plan cannot be prepared by the airline management alone: there must also be agreement with the trade unions.
Meanwhile the airline’s share price continued to plummet on the Italian stock exchange with a six per cent loss in just one day.
The unions have just announced they were withdrawing notice of a strike which they had earlier announced as a means to push government into doing something. The unions said they withdrew the strike notice out of a sense of responsibility.
But they were critical in response to the words of minister Maroni.
Another minister, Infrastructure minister Pietro Lunardi, meanwhile joined the fray and attacked the unions. “That the airline is in a dire condition has been known for months,” he said. “What is important is that the unions understand the situation because government is ready to help. It is the unions, which must be in agreement, whereas they are now divided among themselves, which must come together round a table and find a compromise to save 22,000 jobs.”
The minister added: “The declarations of minister Maroni put the focus on the government’s responsibility. Alitalia cannot be saved by itself.”
The trade union leaders reacted differently to the statement by minister Maroni. CGIL secretary-general Epifani did not agree with the minister: the minister’s words made him fear that someone within government is trying to push things to become worse so that government may benefit by this. Epifani asked for a meeting between government and trade unions.
CISL confederal secretary Raffaele Bonanni said he agreed with minister Maroni: things must be cleared up between the government, the unions and the company. He added: “If a minister, and in particular the minister for Labour, says he is worried by the situation, then I believe the situation is really complicated.”
And UIL leader Luigi Angeletti pointed out that “Alitalia is not a dying company for which we must prepare a funeral.” However, he too agreed that unless something is done, the situation will only get worse.
Trade union SULT, the unitary trade union of transport workers, reacted harshly: “If anyone thinks that one must waste time now so that the June elections come and go in peace and quiet, and Alitalia can then be liquidated later, he is grossly mistaken.” This union announced harsh industrial action to come, which, it added, will make the recent train strikes like a ‘school outing’.
The pilots’ organisations ANPAC and Unione Piloti expressed ‘deep worry’ due, they said to what they claimed were contrasting positions expressed by government figures.
On the political level the president of the Transport Commission of the House of Representatives, Paolo Romani, from Forza Italia, defended government. “When minister Maroni says that government is doing almost nothing regarding the Alitalia crisis, he is wrong. On the contrary, he added, government has done a lot already. And the present management of the company, whose appointment has been approved by the government majority, has promised government to present in a very short time its new plans for the airline.”