Costa Cruises, workers oppose new plan

Genoa - Four departments are being moved to Hamburg putting 161 positions at risk. Costa Cruises’ decision has marked the start of the official dispute in Genoa. From 9 AM on Monday, workers will down tools in a protest to last four hours: a first, at least since the cruise line has been under the control of the Carnival group. In a repeat of protests yesterday, employees will march to the local government offices to raise awareness within the city and regional authorities of their plight. In fact, among the 500 workers assembled in Piazza Piccapietra yesterday (an assembly that filled two company HQ meeting rooms), there was a palpable fear.

Fear that the restructuring plan announced yesterday morning may be the tip of the iceberg, with further jobs in the balance, despite the reassurances given to unions by management on Wednesday evening. Costa has proposed a round table discussion with representatives of the workers, who have accepted the invitation. The scope for dialogue is, however, limited by management’s time constraints: the company wants the issue resolved “within the current fiscal year”.

That means by 30th November 2015. Yesterday morning, CEO Michael Thamm discussed the job consolidation plan in a meeting with the 161 employees affected, before the workers’ rally. During the meeting mention was made of how hospitable Germany is towards Italians, but also sharply cautioned against applying excessive pressure in the negotiations. Remarks that, in the unions words, are “threatening”.

“Job transfers to Hamburg,” workers at the rally explained, “will not be automatic. An application will be required; that means that many of us will have to undergo, even after 15 or 20 years’ employment, a new selection process”. The only figure provided by Costa is 161. According to Mauro Scognamillo (Fit Cisl) and Giacomo Santoro (Filt Cgil), the goal is clearly to avoid any layoffs taking place. In their view, all those affected should be redistributed either as part of the Hamburg transfer or placed in other company departments.

In a fax, yesterday evening, Costa announced the transfer of the departments to the newly created Costa Marine Operations based in Hamburg; It will handle Marine Operations, Medical department, Hotel maintenance and Procurement for the whole Costa Cruises group (Costa, Aida Cruises, Ibero Cruceros). Costa Cruises workers have worries beyond their own jobs: “What will happen to indirect jobs?”, many ask. It’s a relevant question, especially in terms of procurement. Currently the 14 ships in the Costa fleet are resupplied by Italian companies, even when some units are stationed in North Europe during the summer.

Should the “head” of these operations be located in Germany, it could very well be that the resupplying will be in Germany too. The fear is that, in the end, all that will remain is the Italian flag on Costa ships, in order to retain tax benefits available to foreign registered ships, as passed into law in 1999 (let’s not forget the Transport Minister at the time was Genoese, Claudio Burlando) to accomodate Carnival group’s express request. “Italian flag, yes...but for how much longer? Where is Confitarma in the midst of this controversy? When they had to shore up Costa in the wake of the Concordia’s capsizing disaster they were a presence, but now?”. For the moment, the Italian association of shipowners is just a spectator. Genoese MP Mario Tullo, of the Democratic Party, was a lone voice in Rome yesterday, requesting the government to clarify its position on the issue.

The dispute is still in its opening stage. There was talk, yesterday, of involving workers on board ships. While in Rostock, where Aida is based, the terms of the consolidation process in Hamburg, are still unclear. The Aida branch, with some 220 employees, awaited details yesterday, but as yet, no news from “the top”. Details that need to be clear because, as demonstrated before, one plus one is never two in the consolidation game.