Protest by haulage contractors: one man threatens to set fire to himself

The employees of the company Maggi Srl, in Clivio, blocked the provincial road SP3, stopping at least fifteen trucks. One man poured petrol over himself, but was stopped in time.

Tragedy was avoided this morning along the provincial road SP3, between Gaggiolo and Clivio.

The drivers of the haulage company Maggi Srl, in Clivio, (those who had organised the protest in front of the Provincial offices a few months ago) stayed in the street to protest against the fact that they had received no travelling allowances, Christmas or summer bonuses, since 2011.

About fifteen trucks were stopped by the employees along the provincial road, and the drivers got out of their vehicles and occupied the road, forcing car drivers in the area to travel at a walking pace.

At one point during the morning, a 56-year-old man poured petrol over himself and threatened to set himself alight. It was only thanks to the intervention of the traffic police that the desperate gesture was prevented. “He hadn’t received his salary for months, and he had just got the official eviction order,” explained his colleagues, as they continued to strike into the afternoon.

The workers describe their situation as unbearable. “They’ve taken €1000 out of our salaries. We’ve been waiting for our Christmas bonuses since 2011. The company sent us agreement letters, in which they promised to give us the Christmas bonuses before the beginning of 2012, then by March 2013, and we still haven’t received anything. One employee, Livio, who went on hunger strike in front of the Prefect’s Office, has even been dismissed. In the meantime, the company, who continue to talk about the crisis, are using a building cooperative in Campobasso for transportation.”

And so, the employees, almost all Romanians and Moldavians, protested with a long line of trucks in front of the company, in order to have answers. Throughout the day, the articulated lorries remained on the side of the road, forcing the traffic to use only one carriageway, under the control of the traffic police. “There’s been no union agreement, because there’s been no company agreement. For the employees, we’ve only managed to sign the letter of undertaking between the employees’ representatives, who have been disregarded by the company, and the company (ASEA), who are not making themselves available. We’re still trying to understand whether or not the company have the money to pay them. This story isn’t part of a normal state of crisis,” explained Innocenzo Saverio, of the trade union FILT CGIL. “But we can’t do much more, because they should take legal action; the CGIL has a lawyer, but no one has asked for him.”

The owners have not spoken with the journalists, but did receive the Mayor of Clivio, Ida Petrillo, in whose area the company “Scuderie Maggi”, which is specialised in the transportation of foodstuffs, is based; Mayor Petrillo met the striking workers in front of the company’s gates, and offered, also to the company representatives, to mediate between the parties. At the end of the day, the company spoke with the FILT delegate, De Carlo, but without any positive results. “At the moment, there’s no room for negotiation,” the union representative said at the gate. As a result, the employees have decided to continue to the bitter end, leaving their trucks on the side of the road.

In the evening, the workers were persuaded to move, by the forces of law and order; the 17 trucks were “housed” overnight in the parking area for lorries at the border crossing in Gaggiolo. A meeting between the employees and the Prefect is planned for 11 o’clock tomorrow morning.

Redazione VareseNews
redazione@varesenews.it

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Pubblicato il 26 Aprile 2013
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