Former Ilva: Minister Urso publishes new tender but Mayor Bitetti puts the brakes on

The battle for the future of the former Ilva steelworks is increasingly a two-way battle. On one side, Taranto's mayor, Piero Bitetti , and on the other, Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso . Bitetti is stalling, refusing to sign the government's proposed program agreement and canceling the city council meeting that was supposed to examine it; Urso, however, is pressing ahead, confirming the August 12th meeting at the Ministry of Mimit, which the minister intended to finalize the vital document to guarantee and define the steelworks' future. Urso directly implicates Bitetti: at the meeting, "the mayor of Taranto should clearly and transparently express the city's intentions regarding the proposals that have been formulated for months." Then, the attack: "The mayor has repeatedly asked us to postpone the meeting so that the city council can discuss the plan. Yesterday, however, he told us that it's unnecessary, that the majority group leaders made the decision. In short, what once seemed an absolutely necessary condition is no longer so necessary.

Protests against Taranto Mayor Piero Bitetti (Ansa)

The 12th will be the day of truth and responsibility." The latest twist came with a statement released by the city hall on Wednesday evening. The mayor, following the advice of the majority group leaders, announced his opposition to signing the agreement proposed by the executive. The majority group leaders therefore deemed it "superfluous to convene the city council in the coming days because," it reads, "the agreement as drafted is flawed and lacks guarantees for the city." The mayor was therefore asked not to sign the agreement and a new program agreement was proposed, calling for complete decarbonization within five years. Bitetti also proposed adopting a special decree-law for Taranto, so as to allocate resources dedicated to industrial reconversion along with extraordinary tools for urban and environmental regeneration. Urso, meanwhile, also convened a meeting of the unions and the business and former Ilva industry associations on August 12th, following the meeting on the program agreement.

Piero Bitetti (rainews)

Confindustria Taranto, Confapi Taranto, and Aigi fear "an unparalleled social explosion, with 15,000 workers cut off from the production cycle." The unions are also on high alert. "Whoever wants to close Ilva must say so clearly and take responsibility. Today is the time for courage, determination, and truth," declared UILM general secretary Rocco Palombella . FIOM, with general secretary Michele De Palma and steel coordinator Loris Scarpa , emphasized the "lack of any sense of institutional responsibility," announcing "union protection initiatives for all affected workers." FIM general secretary Ferdinando Uliano stated that "the decision by Mayor Bitetti, and his majority, not to support the decarbonization plan condemns the Taranto plant to the loss of over 7,000 jobs, both directly and indirectly." "The Fim-Cisl and other trade unions are firmly opposed to this decision," he concludes.