Airlines and coalmines may not be quite the same thing, yet this week could turn out to be Silvio Berlusconi's Thatcher moment. The Italian rightwing prime minister and media tycoon has been desperately trying to keep Alitalia flying. But all his latest salvage efforts for his country's stricken flag carrier have been blocked by the intransigence of a relatively small group of hardcore unions interested above all in protecting their power and privileges.These unions, including one representing about 1,000 highly paid pilots, have little public support - not unlike Britain's old National Union of Mineworkers when Margaret Thatcher decided to take them on. The confrontation between the Conservative prime minister of the day and the miners turned into a seminal moment for British labour relations. Mr Berlusconi has the opportunity to do the same in Italy.
Airlines and coalmines may not be quite the same thing, yet this week could turn out to be Silvio Berlusconi's Thatcher moment.
The Italian rightwing prime minister and media tycoon has been desperately trying to keep Alitalia flying. But all his latest salvage efforts for his country's stricken flag carrier have been blocked by the intransigence of a relatively small group of hardcore unions interested above all in protecting their power and privileges.
These unions, including one representing about 1,000 highly paid pilots, have little public support - not unlike Britain's old National Union of Mineworkers when Margaret Thatcher decided to take them on. The confrontation between the Conservative prime minister of the day and the miners turned into a seminal moment for British labour relations. Mr Berlusconi has the opportunity to do the same in Italy.
But all his latest salvage efforts for his country's stricken flag carrier have been blocked by the intransigence of a relatively small group of hardcore unions interested above all in protecting their power and privileges.
Mr. Bell does a good job of translating into English Berlusconi's position which has been accepted by the general public thanks to a perfectly tuned media machine.
Alitalia was already on the point of being salvaged by Air France under far better conditions than those offered by Berlusconi's "Italian" group of bigwig crony impresarios with outrageous conflicts of interest.
The "small group of hardcore unions" amounts to the CGIL, the largest representative union in Italy together with the small unions that represent specific categories. In the words of Epifani, head of the CGIL, you don't negotiate with a pistol pointed at your temple- nor at the last minute. Mr. Berlusconi evidently takes his queues from watching Don Vito Corleone who managed business relations by "making offers that can't be refused."
For a breakdown of union representation see the following article (in Italian). When the tally is made that "small group of hardcore unions" happens to represent the majority of Alitalia workers. Mr. Bell's assertion
Most of Alitalia's unions finally accepted, albeit reluctantly, to a restructuring involving some 3,000 job cuts to allow the rescue to take off.
By following the Thatcher example and calling the unions' bluff, he would burst the abscess of 30 years of irresponsible and damaging Italian labour relations. That could turn out to be a far more valuable long-term legacy than saving the national flag carrier.
Alitalia pilots are paid less and have less "privileges" than their European colleagues. Further they did offer to reduce these so-called "privileges" such as being bussed to the airport.
Pilots effectively do have power- and responsibilities. They fly aircrafts.
Alitalia may likely be grounded on Thursday. Berlusconi's cronies will walk off with the choice slices. The Italians that pay taxes will pick up Alitalia's debts and gleefully continue to vote for their saviour who, as we all know, is sacrificing himself for the superior good of the motherland.
These unions, ........, have little public support - not unlike Britain's old National Union of Mineworkers when Margaret Thatcher decided to take them on.
We might quiestion the tactics of the miner's leadership and the bullyboy behaviour that unnecessarily reduced public sympathy, but to say they had little support is to indulge in historical revisionism of Winston Smith proportions keep to the Fen Causeway
