[en] Fincantieri boatyard workers on protest in Sestri Ponente

When attracked at the harbour of the small post-industrial town of Savona, Costa ships dominate all the landscape. Capable of hosting thousands passangers, they look like floating Las Vegas, white and brighting dream cities that will cross the seas to beautiful destinations.

Costa Deliziosa, a luxurious ship adorned with sparkling lights and provided with 4D cinema, theathre, sport centre, beauty centre, five restaurants and so on, is ready to leave the small dock and to sail away for a 101 days cruise around the world. The base price for this incredible trip is over 10.000 euros.

Around 40 chilometres away, Fincantieri workers are guarding the gates of their working place 24/7 since days. Those giant ships that now get themselves ready to take the sea, were built here, into the Fincantieri boatyard in Sestri Ponente, Genova. When the cruise ship that is now under construction will be finished, there will be no more orders for this boatyard and the 741 workers will go on redundancy payment for two years. After that, nothing is clear.

Fincantieri is one of the most important public italian companies, and one of the biggest shipbuilding industries in the world. It owns boatyards in Sestri Ponente, Monfalcone (Gorizia), Marghera (Venice), Palermo, Ancona, Castellammare di Stabbia (Naples), La Spezia and Sestri Levante (Genova) and has over 9300 employees. Its workers have built the more luxurious ships in the whole globe: Carnival Cruise ships, Costa Cruise ships, Disney Cruise ships and tens more.

Due to the economic crisis and the emergence of competitive boatyards in other parts of the world, the company has lost much of its profits. In Sestri Ponente it has promised a reorganization that gives no good feelings to the workers. Fim Cisl and Uilm unions have signed the deal that will lead to the redundancy payment, but the Fiom union (CGIL) does not agree and has started a protest that will culminate – if nothing changes in better for the workers – with the block of the last cruise ship sailing tests.

In January the workers will meet the Minister of Economic Development Corrado Passera to ask for more work and safety for the future.

Sources:
[en] Video: Workers demonstrate in Genova 24.05.2011
[en] Video: Is Fincantieri really closing down?
[en] Fincantieri (Wikipedia)
[en] Cruise community
[it] Genova24.it
[it] Genova24.it