Italian Government Tussle with ArcelorMittal over Ilva Deepens

Release time：Nov 12, 2019 From：匿名

5-Star Movement leader & Italian Prime Minister Mr Giuseppe Conte visited Ilva steel plant at Taranto after ArcelorMittal announced it would walk away from a deal to buy the heavily polluting site, leaving its future in the balance. Mr Conte accused the steel giant of acting in ill faith and said the real reason it wanted to quit Italy is because it no longer thought its industrial plan is viable and is seeking 5,000 job cuts at Ilva to meet its financial goals. During his visit, Mr Conte was challenged by some citizens who said they want the plant closed after the spate of cancer cases. 

Italy’s Foreign Minister Mr Luigi Di Maio told "ArcelorMittal is going back on the agreement to take over the facility. The old consortium to take over ILVA no longer exists. We must oblige ArcelorMittal to stay in Taranto. Dialogue is fine, but without threats. ArcelorMittal knew they would face a government that demanded the pacts be respected. Asking to leave Taranto is an unacceptable act that is not the basis for dialogue. Putting 5,000 people out of work seems absurd to me.”

Italy’s Industry Minister Mr Stefano Patuanelli also accused ArcelorMittal of trying to fool the Italian State and said the penal shield was just an alibi for wanting to pull out for other reasons. He said “Even if it stays on, ArcelorMittal reportedly wants to cut 5,000 jobs across the former ILVA group, which includes other smaller plants in Genoa and Novi Ligure.”

On the other hand, unions at Taranto staged a one-day strike on Friday to protest over the crisis. They have accused the government of providing ArcelorMittal with an excuse to abandon Ilva by binning the legal shield which was given to the previous, state-controlled administrators.