On the Prysmian site in Battipaglia, in the province of Salerno, the unions raise their tone and say they are ready to mobilize. They ask the government to introduce changes to the national bid for optical fiber to prevent the closure of a plant that has 300 direct employees and generates an additional 600 indirect jobs. According to the confederal unions Filctem, Femca and Uiltec, the multinational company, specialized in the production of cables for applications in the energy and telecommunications sector and of optical fibers, is “forced to favor the French territory rather than the national one. to practice its investment policy: 40 million euros for an industrial reality that will feature 45 new jobs, while in Italy the Battipaglia site is in danger of closing “.
The crux lies in the national tender for fiber optics where «the specifics of competence of the Ministry of Technological Innovation and Digitization, led by Colao, are lacking. This effectively puts the specific product made in Italy out of the market ». In fact, Filctem, Femca and Uiltec explain that, at the end of 2021, “Europe introduced duties, but only on optical cables, not on simple fiber. With the announcement in question, the competent ministry did not consider optical fiber as a strategic asset and consequently as a matter that does not need technical specifications. An inexplicable and wrong decision “which contrasts with that taken by the French government which” in the tenders – say the confederal unions – indicated the Prysmian fiber produced in France “.
Luigi Ulgiati, UGL Deputy Secretary General, is also requesting the necessary specifications from the national tender for optical fiber to safeguard the research and quality of fiber produced in Italy against the Chinese import product. “As if the effects of the pandemic weren’t enough, which dragged almost all the Italian productive sectors into a serious crisis – says the trade unionist – we find with extreme embarrassment that the Ministry of Technological Innovation and Digitization, rather than favoring in the national tender for optical fiber a product of high research and quality such as the one produced in the FOS (Prysmian spa) plants in Battipaglia, has instead opted for a medium or low quality fiber, imported from China, which as a first effect disruptive would immediately put 300 jobs at risk of the company specializing in the production of f ibra optical and another 600 from the related industries. We believe that the production of Italian optical fiber should be considered a strategic asset for Italy on a par with other European countries “.