Gentiloni welcomes Embraco jobs freeze (3)

(ANSA) - Rome, March 2 - Premier Paolo Gentiloni on Friday hailed Embraco's freeze on nearly 500 job losses in Italy after a planned move to Slovakia. "Embraco has suspended the firings.
    An important accord for hundreds of workers. Excellent work by (Industry Minister) Carlo Calenda," Gentiloni tweeted.
    The controversial redundancies of close to 500 workers at an Embraco fridge-component-making plant near Turin, with production set to be shifted to Slovakia, have been put on ice, the company and Minister Calenda said earlier on Friday. Italy referred the case to European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who vowed to be intransigent if it turns out that Slovakian incentives to lure the company there constitute illegal State aid.
    European Parliament President Antonio Tajani has also intervened in the case of Embraco, a Brazilian unit of US multinational Whirlpool.
    "An agreement for the suspension of the dismissals has been reached to allow time to work on the reindustrialization (of the site), which Embraco and Whirlpool have committed themselves to," Calenda said.
    "We are satisfied. Now the aim is the reindustrialization".
    The FIOM trade union said the workers salaries were guaranteed for the rest of the year. "We have confirmation that the dismissal letters for 2018 have been put on ice pending the reindustrialization (plan)," said Lino La Mendola of FIOM's Turin branch.
    "The salaries should be fully covered for this year.
    "We expect a solution from January 1, 2019 onwards too.
    "There must be a solution that stops the threat of any workers being kicked out against their will.
    "We won't sign up for redundancies".