A meeting was held today with trade unions on the future of the Giambattista Vico plant in Pomigliano d'Arco.
Representatives from FIM, UILM, FISMIC and UGL were present in person and regional representatives of FIM, UILM, FISMIC were connected via video link from Naples. A further meeting with FIOM, which had communicated that it was unable to attend, has been set for June 4th.
At meeting on May 28th, Fiat presented additional proposals to address issues that had been raised during negotiations and to reconcile the needs of the company with the requests of the unions.
Fiat considers it imperative that the plan have the support of the unions and that they assume responsibility for ensuring its subsequent realisation and correct functioning of the mechanisms to be adopted jointly.
The survival and future success of the plant is dependant on the level of competitiveness achieved and maintained over time in terms of cost, quality and speed of response to the market.
Everyone involved must demonstrate the courage to make a fundamental change in the approaches and behaviours of the past, which are incompatible with the challenges of the future. To guarantee a future for Pomigliano d'Arco and Fiat's manufacturing activities in Italy, it is essential that plants be more efficient and more competitive.
The new proposals from Fiat represent the minimum level at which it can ensure it plays more than a marginal role internationally. Failure to come into line with the best industrial standards would be extremely restrictive to operation of the plant, placing its future in peril. Fiat cannot risk the launch of such a key product as the Panda by entrusting production to a plant that is uncompetitive.
"Time is running out", said Fiat CEO, Sergio Marchionne. "The protracted negotiations with the unions have already resulted in a delay in the investment necessary to begin production. It is my hope that a conclusion can be reached rapidly as it will soon be impossible to accept further delays. In the absence of an agreement that offers adequate guarantees, reassessment of the project and consideration of other alternatives for production of the future Panda may be unavoidable."
