Palermo’s Almaviva dispute at the ministry: 700 jobs at risk.

Last Updated: September 13, 2023

At 3 PM, a meeting between Almaviva and the trade unions Slc-Cgil, Fistel-Cisl, Uilcom-Uil will take place at Mimit to discuss the situation of 700 workers, including those from call centers in Palermo, who are currently on zero-hour furlough and at risk of being laid off. Most of them are former operators of the “1500” helpline, a public utility service set up by the Ministry of Health on January 27, 2020, to answer citizens’ questions about the Covid-19 emergency. The plan was for the “1500” helpline to become a structured service for managing health emergencies and ensuring the employment continuity of about 200-400 workers. However, the project got stuck in inter-ministerial bureaucracy. In anticipation of the expiration of the furlough scheme, the unions will ask the government to absorb all the surplus workers, starting with the demand for the Ministry of Health to fulfill its commitments by providing further targeted training and involving state-owned companies.