AST steel plant talks 'going ahead' despite 'differences'

(ANSA) - Rome, November 27 - Talks to agree a new industrial plan for Terni's troubled AST steel plant are "going ahead" despite remaining differences, Industry Minister Federica Guidi said Thursday.
    "Distances remain over some issues otherwise we would have closed (negotiations) at 5 am," said Guidi of the talks between labour unions and the management of the plant in central Umbria - a wholly-owned subsidiary of the German steel giant ThyssenKrupp - over revisions to an industrial plan originally contemplating 550 layoffs, 100 million euros in investment cuts and the shut-down of one of its two furnaces. "However, the differences are gradually and with difficulty being overcome." Talks will resume on Friday morning, with further negotiations scheduled for Tuesday if necessary. "The conditions are in place to continue talks on the industrial plan, wages and social security provisions," unions said following the suspension of the negotiations early Thursday morning.
    Meanwhile, AST will verify workers' willingness to opt for voluntary redundancy to avoid having to lay people off, unions added. For its part, the company affirmed its "active and collaborative commitment in seeking joint solutions" to the industrial dispute triggered by the presentation of the contentious industrial plan in July and that has seen strikes and other forms of protest by workers up and down the country. In August AST accepted a government appeal to put that plan on hold so talks could take place and by early November ThyssenKrup had reportedly agreed to keep both furnaces open and invest 200 million euros.
    But the parties have yet to agree on a final version of the company's revised industrial plan.
    Last Friday, Premier Matteo Renzi said his government was "very close to a solution".
    One day earlier, AST CEO Lucia Morselli said that the company's steel plant won't be dismantled.
    "The intention is to maintain the Terni production site in its entirety, excluding any hypothesis of dismantling the facilities," read a message to staff signed by Morselli and attached to the Terni plant's gates.