Agreed redeployment and outplacement of 2,700 workers at Fiat-Auto

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On 1 October 1997, the Italian motor manufacturer Fiat-Auto announced to trade unions the transfer of 2,700 workers to different activities by June 1998. This is the latest stage in a large-scale exercise agreed with the trade unions. In response to the new transfers, the trade unions called for guarantees on maintaining contractual terms and conditions

The Fiat-Auto group - in agreement with the sectoral trade unions Fim-Cisl, Fiom-Cgil and Uilm-Uil, plus Fismic-Sida (the latter being the enterprise union which has a fairly high level of membership among Fiat workers) - is carrying out a large-scale "outplacement" of excess Fiat-Auto workers to other companies. This process, which began four years ago (in 1993), has so far involved a total of 9,000 workers, who have been both redeployed within the Fiat group and "outplaced" to other companies outside the group. "These transfers", said Giuseppe Cavallitto, head of Fismic-Sida, "have not involved a reduction in personnel but employment has increased in some companies where the workers have been transferred."

New transfers announced in October 1997 will involve a total of 600 workers from the energy sector who will be outplaced to the Fenice company, which specialises in environmental activities, while a further 400 workers will be outplaced to the Comao company, which specialises in the production of machine tools. Both companies are part of the Fiat group.

However, the solution for 1,700 workers in charge of goods transit in the Mirafiori and Rivalta plants (Turin) is more complex. For these workers, Fiat suggests their outplacement to the TNT Traco goods transport multinational , based in the Netherlands, which has already taken on 900 Fiat workers during the labour reorganisation at the Volvera plant in Turin.

The trade unions intend to reach a precise guarantee from Fiat, above all concerning the collective agreement which will be applied to the workers who are outplaced in other companies. In a declaration on 2 October 1997, Claudio Stacchini of Fiom-Cgil excluded any possibility of an agreement with the company if Fiat will not guarantee the maintenance of pay levels for transferred workers and continued coverage by the metalworking collective agreement.

Talks between Fiat-Auto and trade union organisations are continuing on these issues and will also concern the confirmation of work for 1,000 young people who were employed by Fiat in Turin on fixed-term contracts which are due to run out soon, and which the unions want renewed. Cosmano Spagnuolo of Fim-Cisl hopes that these young people will be re-employed on open-ended contracts, just as Fiat did for 50 workers at Termoli.