Rome — The dispute between Italian airline Alitalia and its successor Ita with the trade unions over the future of thousands of employees is coming to a head.
Early Tuesday, employee representatives symbolically occupied the negotiating offices in Rome after talks had broken off. The unions have long called for a strike on Friday.
The long-established company Alitalia, which is due to cease operations on October 15, advised its passengers to only travel with hand luggage in the coming days. This is to avoid waiting times while reclaiming bags.
Alitalia has not made any profits for years and has repeatedly been dependent on government aid. The company will now be dissolved.
The successor company Ita is intended to be a leaner operation with significantly fewer staff and planes. Of the more than 10,000 Alitalia employees, only 2,800 will be employed at the successor company, according to the plan.
The unions want to negotiate a collective agreement for the remaining employees.
The demands of the trade unions are "not even a basis for negotiation," Ita said in a statement.
©2021 dpa GmbH. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
