Alitalia workers protesting major job
cuts as the Italian flag carrier morphs into the slimmed-down
ITA next month on Friday blocked the highway from Rome to
Fiumicino Airport.
Police tried to re-route the march, which was composed of
several hundred people.
Police sources denied using force to try and stop the marchers.
They said officers had not baton-charged the demonstrators.
Several thousand jobs are set to be lost in Alitalia's new
incarnation ITA, which stands for Italia Trasporto Aereo and is
scheduled to start operations in mid-October.
Pilot and air crew pay is set to be almost halved.
Management and unions for the new State-owned ITA are at
loggerheads over the job cuts.
ITA will start operations in mid-October with 2,800 employees
handling the aviation activities, a number that will go up to a
maximum of 5,750 by the end of its current business plan in
2025, the company has told trade unions.
ITA expects to be fully operational from October 15.
ITA will start out with a fleet of 52 aircraft, which will go up
to 78 in 2022 with the arrival of new-generation aeroplanes,
according to the new company's industrial plan.
The fleet will further increase to 105 aircraft by the end of
2025, including 81 new generation aeroplanes (77% of the fleet)
to reduce the airline's environmental impact and boost
efficiency.
The company will also introduce a new labour contract aimed at
giving it greater flexibility and competitiveness.
It aims to break even by the third quarter of 2023.
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