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The crisis in the air transport sector following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the USA has hit the the Italian national airline, Alitalia, hard. The company has drawn up a restructuring plan which involves more than 5,000 redundancies. On 29 October 2001, Alitalia workers went on strike to protest against the proposals.
Since the terrorist attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001, the air transport sector in Italy, as in the rest of the world, has undergone a major downturn. The number of passengers using Italian airports in September 2001 was down by 3.4% compared with the same month in the previous year. The crisis has in particular hit the tourist trade, with numbers down on international and intercontinental flights. The position varies between the main Italian airports, with Milan's Malpensa airport recorded a 14% fall in passenger numbers, while Rome's Leonardo da Vinci recorded a 4.4% fall.
The national airline company, Alitalia, whose major shareholder is the Ministry of the Economy, recorded a 17.1% drop in passengers in September 2001 compared with September 2000. Alitalia management has responded by drawing up a restructuring plan, which provides for some 5,200 redundancies, reductions in the number of flights, cuts in services provided to passengers on board and the reorganisation of development plans, including cancellation of the purchase of new aircraft. It is estimated that the plan will affect more than 50,000 workers at Alitalia and in related businesses. The plan was due to go before the Alitalia board of directors for approval on 13 November 2001, and then to be considered by the government.
The trade unions represented at Alitalia, both the autonomous unions and those affiliated to the three main confederations, called a four-hour strike on 29 October 2001 again the proposed job losses. The strike was reportedly very well supported and a demonstration held at Rome's Fiumicino airport was attended by 2,000 people. The unions asked the government to take prompt initiatives to support the whole air transport sector, given that, according to the unions, the crisis was not triggered by the events of 11 September 2001.
The welfare minister, Roberto Maroni, announced that he would not permit the use in the Alitalia case of the 'social shock absorbers', such as the Wages Guarantee Fund (Cassa integrazione guadagni, Cig), which cushion the effects of redundancies and restructuring in some sector, (IT9802319F). He does not believe that the situation should be dealt with through a special law for Alitalia. The minister asserted the need for 'a general intervention for the whole air transport sector and the possibility of tackling the problem of redundancies by using job-security agreements'. Job-security or job-creation agreement s (contratti di solidarietà), are a special type of company agreement, provided for by law, whereby, in order to avoid collective redundancies, the working hours and pay of all the company's employees may be reduced. Compensation of 50% of the loss of pay is provided by the Wages Guarantee Fund.
Claudio Claudiani, the general secretary of Fit Cisl, the transport workers' federation affiliated to the Italian Confederation of Workers' Unions (Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori, Cisl), said that the Ministry of Economy, Alitalia's major shareholder, 'must draw up a new company development plan following the logic of efficiency, cost reduction, development of new commercial options and improvement of the services provided'. Mr Claudiani stated that he was sure that the Alitalia workers 'will be willing to cooperate, within a specific framework of commitment'.