Italy’s main labour union confederation CGIL, on September 25 signed an agreement for troubled flagship carrier Alitalia‘ s take over by consortium of private investors. CGIL announced its decision to join the country’s other top three unions, who approved the deal two weeks ago, following talks with government officials at Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi‘s office in Rome. “The overall agreement is absolutely positive,” Guglielmo Epifani, head of the CGIL labour group, said after a meeting with Gianni Letta, Berlusconi’s top deputy. “It’s possible that the remaining unions will approve the plan.”
It was not immediately clear whether five smaller unions, mostly representing pilots and flight attendants would also agree to the deal. The meeting on September 25 followed talks lasting until late on September 24 and involving Letta persuading the CAI consortium to come back on board after it had withdrawn its buy-out bid for Alitalia two weeks ago. Then, six of the unions, including the main CGIL confederation, had rejected CAI’s rescue plan for the airline, including at least 3,000 job cuts. But on September 24, government officials reportedly persuaded CAI to soften its stance, paving the way for the meeting with the unions.
CGIL and the other dissenting unions were also apparently persuaded by Berlusconi’s announcement that foreign carriers - Lufthansa and Air France - could also join the CAI bid at a later stage. CGIL has expressed concern that a wholly CAI controlled Alitalia would not be able to offer a long-range international service in the highly competitive flight sector where mergers are seen as the only way for many airlines to survive. Berlusconi insisted however, that Alitalia would remain in “Italian hands” with a foreign carrier’s participation not exceeding 22 percent. Also on September 25, Italy’s flight controller ENAC was expected to decide on its threat to revoke Alitalia’s operating licence unless it could prove an ability to honour mounting debts.
The carrier’s governmentappointed administrator, Augusto Fantozzi, said that the Italian airline will not ground additional flights. Berlusconi’s government has sought interest from international airlines to join CAI, to help win backing from dissident unions including CGIL. Deutsche Lufthansa has said it’s monitoring the situation, and Berlusconi said two weeks ago that the German carrier would be the best partner for Alitalia. The government on September 24 received an expression of interest from Air France- KLM Group, Ansa reported, citing Francesco Mengozzi, a former Alitalia chief executive who now serves as a consultant to the French airline.
Air France may buy a stake of between 10 percent and 20 percent in Alitalia, Ansa reported on September 25, citing people familiar with the situation. There’s no fresh news on foreign investors for Alitalia, Labour Minister Maurizio Sacconi said. CAI will have to pick its partner once it formally takes over Alitalia, said Luigi Angeletti, leader of Italy’s third-biggest union, UIL.