“We need to get the economy back on track, starting with the recovery of public and private investments. We need to invest in traditional chemistry so that it becomes 'green', environmentally friendly, because today it still remains the heart of the system”. This was stated by Emilio Miceli, general secretary of Filctem CGIL, as he opened the second national congress of his organization today in Perugia in front of an audience of 527 chemical, textile, energy and manufacturing sector delegates from all over Italy, representing of over 232,000 subscribers. Miceli then recalled how “Eni and Enel still invest too little in our country. And if businesses don't invest, the economy won't restart. Eni, in particular, owes a debt to the country because it is reducing basic chemicals to a minimum, despite the appreciable efforts being made - and not only by Eni - on the processes of reconversion towards 'green chemistry', especially in Marghera, Priolo, Porto Torres and Vercelli”.
Another qualifying point of the Filctem recipe for development is support for Made in Italy. “I don't agree – he explained – with the bill establishing Made in Italy, because it underestimates textile production. Of course, only an inexperienced person can think that success doesn't derive from the refinement of Italian creations, from the talent of those who design and plan. But it can hardly be argued that tradition and product quality are extraneous to it. Does anyone think that made in Italy can live on a long assembly line that stops in China? If this is not the case, then its labeling must also contain the unequivocal sign of the tradition of the Italian textile factory and manufacturing”. He went on to add: “They are products that fully repay the production costs, they must satisfy customers who justly pay and demand the best. So we grew up. Let's make sure we stay there."
As for the pharmaceutical industry, another pillar of the sectors represented by Filctem, "the bill we pay is very high: over the last six years, the sector has lost more than 13,000 employees". Companies, especially multinationals, instead of “investing in research and development, which is the only way to keep companies competitive, allocate more and more resources to commercial strategies and move activities to their countries of origin. The risk is that Italy will become a "deposit" for medicines produced elsewhere". According to Miceli, “pharmaceutical production and research are extremely important assets, as well as a supply chain of absolute quality in Italy. For this reason it is surprising that the rescue of the Nerviano cancer research center was achieved with the direct intervention of the Lombardy Region. Really none
