Suspended for eating two slices of mortadella at work.
This is what some employees of the Correggio plant, in the Reggiano area , of the Tre Valli agricultural cooperative partner report, belonging to the Veronesi Group, leader in the agri-food market with the brands, among others, Aia and Negroni.
The workers, in charge of the packaging of meat and cured meats, as told by the Resto del Carlino of Reggio Emilia, would have received in recent days the disciplinary contest letters announcing the suspension.
The checks , as the company explains, actually began, with the installation of cameras , "following the reporting of several serious incidents " and "as required by law". The reference was to some shortages in the lockers of the employees' changing rooms.
Then, however, what the recordings brought to light was also something else: from the images the company in addition to discovering an employee - later fired - who had put two whole hams in a bag , noticed the workers while they were taking slices of salami and then eat them on a break.
"They were slices of waste - explain the employees - that we used to stuff some focaccia brought from home. We didn't steal anything, we were just hungry during the shift since the food vending machines are not enough for 80 employees and in the afternoon they are already empty . We acted in good faith, all in the light of the sun even though we knew of the presence of the cameras. Besides, it has always been tolerated in the company , otherwise everyone should be suspended ".
The workers now fear dismissal and have challenged, through their lawyers, the letters, formally asking for readmission to work without undergoing any disciplinary measures. The company, which has 15 days to reply, in the meantime specifies that “the foods consumed by the workers involved in the affair were not production waste, but whole packs of products in all respects destined for subsequent marketing. The matter will be clarified in the competent offices, as a result of the procedures provided for by law ".
