This is the opinion of the provincial secretaries of Filctem Cgil (Giuseppe D'Aquila and Giovanni Romeo), Femca Cisl (Giuseppe Coco), Uiltec Uil (Alfio Avellino) and chemical Ugl (Angelo Mirabella), together with the confederal secretary of the CGIL of Catania (Margherita patti)
Editorial board 14th April 2015 – Catania Today
We ask for a very urgent meeting with Pfizer's management at the Catania headquarters of the Industrialists' Association, and a discussion with local institutions. We are worried about the fate of the Pfizer plant already in the short term, fearing that sad, ignoble and unfortunately far from resolved pages could be re-proposed: a new case would not be acceptable Myrmex and - should it occur - it will be opposed with all the negotiating, legal, institutional and fighting tools available to trade union organizations and workers".
This is the opinion of the provincial secretaries of Filctem Cgil (Giuseppe D'Aquila and Giovanni Romeo), Femca Cisl (Giuseppe Coco), Uiltec Uil (Alfio Avellino) and chemical Ugl (Angelo Mirabella), together with the confederal secretary of the CGIL of Catania (Margherita patti), who today chaired a joint meeting of their management to discuss the Pfizer plant in Catania, following strong concerns about short-term prospects.
"In fact, for years the plant has been undergoing a process of gradual and constant dismantling, - reads a joint note signed by the secretaries - with a substantial weakening of the workforce (albeit made voluntary by the negotiating commitment of local unions and RSU) and the dismemberment of the plant into three sections, one of which, the one that for years was the center of excellence of the site, the Research Center, sold through an unscrupulous operation to a self-styled entrepreneur dedicated to pure speculation and with no interest in the aspects productive and employment.
Since 2009, that is, since the worldwide acquisition of Wyeth by Pfizer was announced and then implemented, we have constantly denounced our concern about what emerges as a process of disengagement of the American multinational from the territory Catania. In this regard, CGIL, CISL, UIL and Ugl have always been determined by asking for comparisons with the Company; however, this has always downplayed the concerns of workers' organizations, belittling them, or worse, mocking them or even accusing them of a defeatist attitude. Unfortunately, instead everything that was feared has always occurred on time.
Furthermore, after the unflattering results of the last inspection by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration, the control body of the US government on pharmaceutical and food production), which took place in November, the production of Tazocin - the flagship drug of the Catania plant - was interrupted and to date there is no certainty on the date of resumption. All this without the multinational having requested to appeal to layoffs. The new managing director of Catania, in the only brief meeting he had with the territorial union secretariats, had declared that production would restart in mid-March, which promptly did not occur and moreover without the director deciding to communicate to the unions the reasons for the further delays in the restart of production, and the company projects in the very short term".
The note continues: “We consider it unacceptable, inadmissible and grotesque that the management of one of the main production plants in our area has such an inattentive attitude towards union relations. It is not absolutely acceptable, but even more so in a context of crisis and industrial desertification like the one we are currently experiencing, that what was one of the main industrial realities should be definitively eradicated from our territory. In a context in which the only trump card of our industry can and must be excellence, it is unacceptable that pharmaceutical companies in our area should be managed with provincialism and little or no entrepreneurial foresight. And it is unacceptable that Pfizer, the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, and/or the local management, could decide to cancel half a century of glorious history and excellence in our area".“
