Apply law 223/1991 on collective redundancies, perhaps extending the time allowed for union consultation – today for larger companies, up to 75 days, that is to say two and a half months – after which to proceed with the acts of withdrawal. Then lighten the procedure, provided for in the draft of the anti-relocation Decree, eliminating the final ok of the Ministry of Economic Development to the plan to limit the employment and economic repercussions that the company (which decides to close) is required to present.
These are two possible corrections on which the government technicians are thinking to modify the draft provision that sees Lavoro and Mise engaged, after the bitter controversies of recent days, with companies on the barricades due to rules considered extremely punitive.
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Stakes to dissuade from closures
The theme is delicate; the ministries of Labor and Economic Development, in the aftermath of the Gkn case, have developed a draft of the text which essentially provides for a mandatory path for multinationals that decide to close their production site in Italy. The new rules apply to companies with at least 250 employees (they are just over 4 thousand based on Istat 2019 data, ed) which, as written in the draft provision, intend to proceed with the “closure of a production site located in the national territory with definitive activity for reasons not determined by equity or economic-financial imbalance that makes it likely to be in crisis or insolvency “.
Well, in these cases, the draft text requires the company (which decides to close the site), before proceeding with the layoffs, a series of obligations: the obligation of a written communication of the project to close the production site at Lavoro , Mise, Anpal, Regions and trade unions; then, within 90 days of the written communication, the company must submit to the Mise a plan to limit the employment and economic repercussions deriving from the closure of the production site. Economic Development, within another 30 days from the presentation of the plan, convenes the company for examination and discussion of the document, together with Anpal, regions and trade unions. Within the following 30 days, the Mise structure must conclude the examination of the plan (it can be extended for another 30 days, with the agreement of all the parties). In short, a tortuous and “sub judice” path (a possible red disc from Mise would block the company).
Negotiation on sanctions underway
The idea of the government technicians is to try to smooth out some rigidities: they would be considering the hypothesis of taking as a reference the law 223 on dismissals, extending a bit the timing of the confrontation with the union; and eliminating the final judgment of the Mise. It would also be dealing with sanctions. To date, in the draft dl there is no longer any mention of black lists and maxi fines (2% of turnover in the last financial year). But if there is no plan (or, as mentioned, the Mise does not approve it), a tenfold increase is expected for dismissal; and stop to public grants and funding for five years. During the week, phone calls and informal meetings within the executive will continue to find a shared solution. A table extended to companies and trade unions is also not excluded.