AGI – “A great national dispute, which it cannot be de-classified to each other regionally. Air Italy workers deserve to be considered on a par with Alitalia colleagues by the government “. This was stated by the president of the Sardinia Region, Christian Solinas, according to whom”the creation of a Sardinian airline can represent an opportunity to guarantee the right to mobility for Sardinians and the accessibility of Sardinia, especially for the tourism sector “.
“But on this project it is necessary to converge the will of all in common action that it can be carried out before the government and the European Union to overcome obstacles that are not of an economic or organizational nature, but of a bureaucratic nature in Europe with particular reference to the state aid regime “, he adds, after having met trade unions of workers fighting for their future, still uncertain.
In the meantime, Solinas explains, starting tomorrow the region will take action to obtain from the government the extension of the social safety nets until 31 December. “We have less than 2 months, between now and June 30, to resolve the employment problem and to bring the Air Italy dispute to the attention of the government and Europe, which must be considered a national problem. It is unthinkable “, the Sardinian president insists,” that the solution will pass exclusively to the Region. We have said from the very first moment, in 2019, that we are ready to do our part. The Region is with the workers but the competences are distinct: the State must face the Air Italy dispute as it is dealing with the Alitalia one, because there are no Serie A and Serie B workers ”.
The president then reaffirms the will of the Region to take an active part for a wide-ranging confrontation, recalling the trade unions to a sense of collaboration even in the hypothesis of the creation of a regional company. “Unions and the Region must march together and get the green light from the government”, is the hope. And the executive “must be the spokesperson for the project in Europe. In the meantime, work must be safeguarded ”, Solinas emphasizes, announcing the convocation of the liquidators of the company for the extension of the shock absorbers.
“I will contact the Minister of Economic Development to put on the table the hypothesis of an exit from the industrial crisis. Immediately we will reformulate the calculations to create a regional company and to know the costs of the start-up of an in-house company which has its core business in territorial continuity, a public newco that could progressively open up to private entrepreneurs, industrial partners who would feel guaranteed by the public presence “.
Sardinia must have guaranteed its right to continuity: “All the calculations made in 2019 must now be re-measured in light of the serious crisis created by the pandemic, but new opportunities could also open up. If we really want to arrive at the solution of a regional company, we must sew an overall consensus around this hypothesis: the Region, trade unions, and then the government, which must protect the project before the European Commission, accepting the hypothesis of paying for a start-up phase. with public resources but avoiding the configuration of state aid “.
The governor will convene the unions again in the coming days, to illustrate the results of the dialogue with the government. “The creation of a Sardinian airline can be an opportunity to guarantee the right to mobility for Sardinians and the accessibility of Sardinia, especially for the tourism sector”, concludes Solinas.
.