Unions lament director 'works too much'

(ANSA) - Rome, March 4 - Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said on Facebook Friday said that labour union complaints that the new director of the Palace of Caserta works too much are "ridiculous".
    The Palace, in Italian Reggia di Caserta, is an 18th-century former royal residence near Naples and a UNESCO World Heritage site open to the public, whose new director Mauro Felicori was appointed through an international application process.
    "The labour unions that complain about Felicori, (who was) chosen by government through an international competition, should realise that the tide has turned. And the free ride is over!" Renzi wrote.
    "It's not by chance that in February 2016 visitors are up 70% compared to February 2015 and receipts are up 105%".
    Italian daily Il Mattino reported on Friday that in late February three labour unions sent a letter of protest to members of Culture Minister Dario Franceschini's staff, complaining among other things that Felicori worked past closing time and this "puts the entire museum at risk".
    Felicori said he doesn't have to justify himself, calling his job "an enormous responsibility".
    "The Palace is guarded 24 hours a day, so even if the director asked someone to work overtime... there wouldn't be anything wrong, but I've never done that," he said.
    Labour union UGL coordinator Carmine Egizio said working late was just one of the complaints listed in the letter.
    "We also cited problems that haven't ever been solved, like the personnel time clock, which is still the old one," Egizio said, pointing out that the culture ministry mandated a new system in 2013. CGIL trade union federation chief Susanna Camusso also weighed in.
    "When you're wrong you should be able to admit it, and the unions at #reggiacaserta were wrong!" she tweeted.