Sulcis can return to being an industrial hub, seizing the opportunities that exist precisely in the strategic supply chains where Europe directs its greatest resources: think of critical raw materials and certainly also the defense sector, both growing sectors. Responsibility, pragmatism, and a shared purpose are needed. Indeed, great teamwork is needed .
This was underlined by the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso , during the institutional roundtable dedicated to the Sulcis area convened at the ministry to initiate a discussion on the industrial and employment revitalization of the territory.
Representatives of the Sardinia Region ( remotely, with accompanying controversy ), local municipalities, the Ministry of Labor, Confindustria, trade unions, and the technical structures of Mimit participated in the meeting.
The meeting focused not on individual disputes but on "an overall vision," the ministry emphasized, explaining that the goal was to take stock of the state of the productive system and evaluate all available levers to provide a structural response to the ongoing crisis and boost employment in Sulcis.
The unions, however, are dissatisfied with the meeting, starting with the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour): "Minister Urso's failure to respond to requests for commitments and statements he made in previous meetings, particularly during his visit to Sulcis Iglesiente on December 27th, regarding the strategic importance of lead, zinc, and aluminum production in Sulcis Iglesiente for the entire country, is decidedly worrying and, moreover, disrespectful to Sardinia and its workers," said CGIL Sardinia Secretary General Fausto Durante . "We all remember," he said, speaking during the meeting, "the solemnity of the national government's repeated statements emphasizing the strategic nature of primary production at that site, but we are still waiting for those statements to be followed up."
Referring to the discussions proposed today by Minister Urso, the CGIL believes that " we can also discuss new initiatives, storage sites, critical raw materials, and the reuse of materials resulting from remediation, but we need to clarify the revitalization of the primary sector; there's no more time to wait."
Regarding the possibility of further developments in the defense industry, the CGIL reaffirms its belief "in supporting the relaunch of strategic primary production, which the region has been committed to for over half a century."
"The crisis affecting these strategic productions has been the subject of several meetings of the working group established at the ministry for over two and a half years, but the national government has shown no willingness to resolve one of the critical issues—the high cost of energy. The signing of the Prime Ministerial Decree for the arrival of natural gas has also been postponed, and is still awaited, " the union maintains. "These are the government's specific responsibilities, and we await answers, along with concrete solutions for restarting strategic production—lead, zinc, and aluminum. The hope," CGIL concludes, " is that these will be addressed at the next round of discussions already scheduled to address the individual disputes, otherwise mobilization will be inevitable."
"At today's meeting, MIMIT provided generic and insufficient information ," confirmed UIL confederation secretary Vera Buonuomo and UIL Sardegna general secretary Fulvia Murru. "We can no longer tolerate silence and delays that prevent the relaunch of strategic production, condemning the region to unemployment, depopulation, and poverty. " Furthermore, "It is serious that we don't know how much has been spent on the Just Transition Fund, which amounts to over €367 million for the period 2021-2027, nor are there any updated public progress reports. The government and the Sardinia Region," the two secretaries added, " must ensure clarity, eliminating further buck-passing or delays that risk paralyzing any prospects."
According to CISL Sardinia General Secretary Pier Luigi Ledda, "the crisis in Sulcis and Sardinia's main manufacturing communities cannot be addressed with emergency measures or constant postponements. A clear industrial project is needed, a plan that restores prospects to a region that has been experiencing deindustrialization for over a decade."
The Region is also asking the Government for answers: "There must be a change of pace on the major disputes with concrete interventions , first and foremost on the energy costs front, which represent an absolutely priority starting point for the relaunch of highly energy-intensive companies," said Industry Councillor Emanuele Cani.