"This affair demands justice," commented Gianfranco Murtinu, Davide Tilocca, and Giovanni Tavera, regional secretaries of Filctem Cgil, Femca Cisl, and Uiltec Cisl, on the first day of the strike this morning. They held a picket line outside the gates of the Eni Spa depot in the Porto Torres industrial area. Eni has reduced its workforce by three, posing a safety risk to both personnel and facilities. Also present at the Via Marco Polo plant were company union representatives, Mayor Massimo Mulas, and Simona Fois, president of the Sassari Provincial Industrial Consortium. The second day of strike action is scheduled for Friday, November 14. "Three workers were taken away by pretending to be volunteers," says Murtinu, of Filtem Cgil. "These workers from Porto Torres were transferred to the Rho plant in the province of Milan to try to stem a difficult situation at that facility. This has worsened safety conditions at the local site, with five workers forced to do the work of ten. This is extremely concerning," adds Murtinu, "both for the operation of the depot and for safety. If the company has decided to strip this site, it means they have no interest and demonstrate a desire to close." The Eni Spa depot employs approximately 18 workers, engaged in loading tankers and maintaining the gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel tanks, a high volume of production needed to supply the whole of Northern Sardinia. "This demonstrates the arrogance of the multinational, which refused to engage with the local secretariats in a situation that highlights all the safety challenges," adds Davide Tilocca, secretary of Femca Cisl. We don't want a repeat of the Calenzano tragedy, with the explosion at the Eni depot near Florence that killed five people and seriously injured several others. They wanted to operate the plants with five fewer workers, three transferred in recent days, and two others understaffed, ignoring the serious safety issue. Mayor Massimo Mulas expressed his solidarity with the workers. "This situation is even more serious," he commented. "The concern is twofold: one is the disinterest and lack of respect for the local area, and the other is the safety risk. I don't believe a company of this size can afford this kind of damage, even following the Calenzano tragedy. There are situations that need to be protected, and then there's a question of dignity and self-confidence," he added. "So Eni should tell us what it wants to do because there are young workers, both direct and indirect, who want to understand how to best organize their future." The workers' situation is expected to be even more complicated. "The problem is that we have to manage two maintenance tanks, one for diesel and one for gasoline, and we're forced to take on an additional workload, working up to 12 hours a day to compensate. Added to this are the jobs that need to be supervised," emphasizes Andrea Simula, one of the operators at the Eni SpA depot.
the protest
Eni is cutting staff at Porto Torres, and the depot is striking: "This is where the Calenzano tragedy is at risk."
Three workers transferred to the Rho plant: "They were taken as volunteers, and safety conditions are worsening here."
