Press Release
13 January 2015
AST: Agreement approved by a vast majority of the employees
On 17th December, employees of ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) approved, by a vast majority, the agreement reached on 3rd December between the trade unions, the company, and both national and local institutions with regard to the restructuring and relaunching of activities at the site.
The agreement - reached after 44 days of continuous strike action – provides for the maintenance of activities over the next four years, as well as the suppression of 305 jobs on a purely voluntary basis (voluntary departure), and partly restores the company agreement which the company had unilaterally decided to terminate.
The industrial plan, covering the period 2014-2018, is backed by investments to the tune of 140 million euros, mainly earmarked for product improvement, improving energy efficiency, a minimum production of cast steel fixed at 1 million tonnes per year, and a programme to increase the efficiency of the two furnaces (whereas the previous business plan foresaw the shut-down of one of the two furnaces). Strengthening the commercial network should lead to an increase in the volume of production «provided that market conditions so permit». The company undertakes in particular to develop the national and Mediterranean market and examine a specific investment of 26 million euros to reduce energy costs. It should also be noted that AST will come under the division «TK Materials», which will guarantee a high level of product penetration on all markets.
With regard to the social and employment aspects within contracting or subcontracting companies, the Region of Umbria has undertaken to support the vocational retraining of employees in the event of a change in the awarding of contracts and to facilitate continued employment at the production site. Although, initially, management had unilaterally terminated all the company agreements, this new agreement provides for the partial restoration of the company agreement. It provides in particular for continued payment of the wage premia for night work, the productivity bonus for all employees, the seniority bonus as from 25 years of age, the compensatory allowance for staff who can be called in in the event of emergencies and the allowance for Sunday work. These measures will be applied with retroactive effect from 1st October 2014.
IndustriAll Europe congratulates the Italian unions and the local authorities for the strong degree of mobilisation which has led to the guaranteed continuation and development of the Terni site which had been faced with a very unstable situation for the last 2 years. The European trade union organisation and the national and local trade unions will keep a close watch to ensure that the commitments set out in the agreement are fully respected and implemented at the site.
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Press 1/2015
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Press Officer: Linda Rackham - - Tel: +32 (0)2 226 00 68