In March 1999, an agreement on restructuring the Nuovo Pignone engineering plant in Florence was signed at the Italian Ministry of Labour by company management and sectoral metalworkers' trade unions. The agreement reduces the number of redundancies originally planned, while providing for new investments and the recruitment of 110 new workers.
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In March 1999, an agreement on restructuring the Nuovo Pignone engineering plant in Florence was signed at the Italian Ministry of Labour by company management and sectoral metalworkers' trade unions. The agreement reduces the number of redundancies originally planned, while providing for new investments and the recruitment of 110 new workers.
On 18 January 1999, the management of the Florence-based Nuovo Pignone engineering firm informed the local metalworkers' trade unions - Fiom-Cgil, Fim-Cisl and Uilm-Uil- and the company's Rsu employee representative bodies of its intention to restructure the Florence plant and place a maximum of 400 workers on "special short-time earnings compensation" under the Wages Guarantee Fund (Cassa integrazione guadagni straordinaria, Cigs) (IT9802319F). Nuovo Pignone, a company with a long history in Florence, was recently bought by the USA-based multinational, General Electric.
From the start, the unions expressed their disagreement with the plan. They claimed that the company's decisions were taken solely because of a temporary drop in profitability and a decrease in profits, which were still higher than the average in the sector, and acceptable for an healthy and productive company. During the subsequent meetings, the unions sought to ensure that: no worker would be unemployed or without pay because of the reorganisation; and a vocational training programme should be established to convert the skills of those workers who no longer meet the company's needs.
The lengthy negotiations between unions and management came to an end following mediation by the undersecretary at the Ministry of Labour, Luigi Viviani. The agreement signed on 16 March 1999 provides for the number of workers considered surplus to requirements to be reduced from 400 to 300, through the following measures:
83 workers will be protected through the use of "social shock absorber" mechanisms till retirement;
63 will be reskilled through vocational training programmes and reintegrated into work;
75 will be placed in other companies in the Florence area through an "outplacement" mechanism, whereby a joint committee composed of representatives of the company's management and of the Rsu will find them a job; and
79 workers will be affected by an "outsourcing" mechanism. The company will entrust external companies with some activities (personnel administration, security services, mail delivery service, etc), and these companies will hire Nuovo Pignone workers.
The company also confirms that it will invest ITL 236 billion during the next two years and that it will hire 110 workers with a university degree or an high school diploma.
On 19 March, the agreement was submitted to the approval of the plant's workers, and 60% agreed with the decisions taken.
Mr Viviani stated that the deal is a positive agreement which strengthens the role of the company within the General Electric international group. Nuovo Pignone management is very satisfied with the agreement, which it believes reflects a balance between the partners' needs. Trade union organisations are also highly satisfied with the agreement which, according to the secretary general of Fim-Cisl's Florence organisation, Renato Santini, was really difficult to achieve.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1999), Jobs saved by Nuovo Pignone restructuring agreement, article.
