Ericsson, “Ruining the lives of 147 families”

Genoa - Gags and tears. Yet another day of tension regarding Ericsson Italy, this time at Liguria’s Regional Council where workers have directed their frustration at the council leaders, with shouts and protests against the governor of the region, Giovanni Toti, who came to speak with workers. “You are destroying the lives of 147 families, shame on you,” yell two employees before bursting into tears and leaving. The entire delegation at the council chambers was disappointed with the governor’s speech.

The Swedish multinational, in fact, shows no intention of backtracking one bit on their company’s reorganization plan, which plans to shed 147 positions out of a 665-strong workforce at the telecom giant’s Genoa headquarters in the B Tower at Erzelli; and reassurances from politicians are no longer enough for the workers.

After six weeks of worker mobilization, 59 hours of strikes, demonstrations in the city centre and blockades on the highway at the Genoa Airport exit, yesterday saw one last dramatic protest, before the tears. Over thirty people wearing gags assembled as the regional council held its proceedings, a silent protest to try to make themselves heard. “We are voiceless, unheeded by the politicians,” commented Fabio Allegretti, trade union secretary at SLC CGIL. “We’ve just heard empathetic words, but no concrete actions, there was no negotiation with the company.”

On Thursday the 45-day period provided by unions for negotiation procedures is set to expire, to be followed by another month in which to reach an agreement, before the start of the dismissal procedures. “Before starting any discussion Ericsson intends to complete a cooling-off negotiation with Confindustria,” said the governor of the Region, Giovanni Toti. “Once completed, I have received assurances from Economic Development Minister Carlo Calenda that the Government intends to convene Ericsson to the Ministries of Economic Development or Labour, in the coming months.”

Meanwhile, this Thursday at Unindustria in Rome, a meeting between unions and the company will take place, as a necessary step to conclude the phase of formal collective bargaining that never happened. Workers have promised to be ready for further mobilization.