Alitalia's larger unions and potential buyers reached a partial agreement on a rescue plan for the insolvent airline that was immediately denounced by labor groups excluded from the talks.
"It has been a difficult and intense effort, but the accord represents an important, shared agreement on the industrial plan," Labour Minister Maurizio Sacconi said in a faxed statement.
Mr Sacconi led the talks with four of Alitalia's nine unions and Rocco Sabelli, chief executive officer of CAI, the group of Italian investors formed to buy parts of Alitalia in a bid to save the failing carrier from bankruptcy.
The negotiations focused only on CAI's industrial plan and not on labor contracts, one of the most contentious issues, which contributed to the original talks collapsing on September 12th.
Alitalia filed for insolvency on August 29th, allowing the state-backed rescue to begin. The plan calls for CAI, led Roberto Colaninno, to buy Alitalia's commercial flight assets and merge them with domestic rival Air One. The unprofitable businesses would be sold or liquidated.
Union opposition prompted CAI to abandon the talks hours after a September 11th deadline expired and Sacconi is leading the effort to bring the two sides back together.
Differences among the carrier's nine unions and their inability to form a single position in the talks, has complicated efforts to forge an agreement.
Mr Sacconi today included the unions with national representation, excluding the others that are just Alitalia workers such as the two pilots unions and flight staff.
"Any agreement without our direct consultation, is rejected and considered useless and a provocation," said Fabrizio Tomaselli, co-ordinator of the SDL flight attendants union, outside a Labour Ministry building where talks were supposed to be held with all nine unions.
Those talks were originally due to begin at 6pm and hadn't taken place when Mr Tomaselli made his remarks at 1am. Outside the building hundreds of Alitalia workers gathered, shouting "buffoons," referring to Mr Sacconi, CAI and the other unions.
Earlier they tossed coins and cigarette butts at state-appointed bankruptcy commissioner Augusto Fantozzi, who is charged with implementing the rescue plan and selling off the assets not bought by CAI.
Bloomberg