THE EAGLE. The city's economy risks a serious blow: losing the Menarini factory.
This was declared by the Cisl manager of L'Aquila, Gianfranco Giorgi, who highlights how "this news aggravates a bleak employment and industrial picture for the L'Aquila area".
After the earthquake of 6 April 2009, the company managed to reopen the site in record time. Already in 2008 the pharmaceutical company had renewed the agreement with the other drug company, Dompè, for the construction of one of the largest pharmaceutical centers in the boot right in the regional capital. A long-standing agreement, started in 1993 thanks to which Menarini used the Dompè plant in L'Aquila.
The situation presented by the general manager of the Menarini group, Carlo Colombini, in relation to the Monti decree and the new prescriptions for generic drugs, which would cause the L'Aquila plant to lose 70 percent of production, relating to drugs with expired patents, which cannot be produced by pharmaceutical companies other than the one that filed the patent, is "very serious", Giorgi underlines, ". The pharmaceutical sector is one of the key sectors of the local market, which guarantees the maintenance of hundreds of jobs, and which had to be supported and guided in its growth.
There are approximately 1,100 employees and 1,250 operators in related industries. In the province of L'Aquila alone, employees represent 31% of the entire manufacturing sector. The alarmist declarations of the Menarini manager, on the basis of what has been established by the Government, instead raise fears of serious repercussions for the L'Aquila plant, which risks closure with the loss of 70 percent of production.
For the CISL, the situation "is borderline" and local authorities must take note of it. The city of L'Aquila "is sinking and continues to lose pieces and jobs". The Menarini Group, which has five production plants in Italy and about 120 employees, together with Dompé and Sanofi Aventis represents the only solid sector, which has held up well even after the earthquake. On several occasions these companies have spoken of expansions and investments in the area, which, Giorgi points out, "would help to safeguard employment levels and create growth prospects".
«We invite Menarini to make an effort to ensure that L'Aquila's pharmaceutical assets are not lost, considering the pitiful situation in the district and the enormous economic difficulties. Finally», concludes Giorgi, «a reminder to our politicians not to think only of the electoral campaign, but to safeguard, with a greater effort, the interests of our community».
30/01/2012 12:30
THE SITUATION OF THE "MENARINI" GROUP IN ITALY: THE CONCERN OF THE TRADE UNIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF EMPLOYMENT
