21 March, 2014IndustriALL Italian affiliates FIM, FIOM and UILM together with the employees are undertaking a series of protests and intensive mobilization with the goal of informing government agencies and involving the parent company in the negotiations.
On 20 January, upon request of the unions a meeting was held at the Ministry of Economic Development between the national trade unions, the company's union representatives and the Management of Micron Italia. At the meeting the company announced the programmed cuts – involving all sites – and initiated immediately as of 21 January, the consultation procedure established by the law regarding employment reduction, which is due to end next 7 April.
Since April 2013 the multinational group has done a major reduction of its workforce from 3,200 to 1,028 employees by January 2014. Also in 2013 the company has announced another restructuring plan foreseeing 5 per cent cut of workforce, with the most severe redundancies in Italy going as far as 40 per cent reduction of workforce.
The announced plan, which puts in risk further presence of group in Italy was not initially negotiated with the representative unions. The company plans will have a dramatic impact on employment and downsizing of industrial sector in Italy. The move is especially painful in the high technology company such as Micron, where almost exclusively university and higher education graduates are employed, most of them under their 50-ies.
The unions organized a series of protests actions and strikes across the country while searching for an urgent meeting with senior officials of the parent company U.S. based multinational Micron Technology, Inc. So far the company has refused to meet the union representatives.
In a joint statement National Secretaries of FIM, FIOM and UILM declared,
“Micron cannot shirk its responsibility and must submit a recovery plan for its Italian plants, as well as a social plan to deal with the reorganisation and the maintenance of employment levels.”
The statement further reads, “We want to solicit public opinion and government agencies so that attention is paid to these sectors of technological and professional excellence, and that all necessary measures are taken to encourage investment and safeguard the industrial future of our country,”
In the solidarity message sent to its Italian affiliates FIM, FIOM and UILM IndustriALL Global Union expressed full support of the struggle by the unions at manufacturing and research sites of Micron Semiconductor Italia to safeguard employment and preserve the industrial role of Micron Italia.