Alitalia's chief executive Renato Riverso may well want to think about returning to the computer industry. His promise to produce a concrete restructuring plan has failed to materialise, leading to considerable employee frustration, their refusal to guarantee a no-strike period, and a breakdown in the latest round of discussions.
Without the 'no-strike' promise state holding company IRI will not consider a recapitalisation of the carrier, as it says a 'rational investor' would not take the risk in the airline. IRI may yet avoid the scrutiny of the European Commission over the recapitalisation, but Brussels is already asking questions about the sale of Aeroporti di Roma by Alitalia to Cofiri, the financing arm of IRI.
At presstime, talks between the Italian flag carrier and its unions had broken down, and IRI referred the dispute back to a government which is itself in turmoil.
Alitalia wants an 18-month labour peace pact to pave the way for a L1,500 billion ($953 million) injection. One proposal suggests one third of this will come from employee stakes and private investors, while IRI will provide the remainder. Alitalia needs the capital to fund redundancies and reduce its debt, which was L3,562 billion as of 30 June 1995.
Some unions were ready to agree to nine months of no strikes and a 3.5 per cent pay increase, but the pilots refused. Captain Paolo Mariani at pilot's union Anpac says a new management is vital for the carrier's survival. But as one Alitalia source comments: a change at the top would probably 'just delay the actions which need to be taken'.
Sara Guild
Source: Airline Business
