Read the final statement issued by the Italian NCP regarding this specific instance – 5 November 2018

In July 2018, the trade union FIOM-CGIL Firenze submitted a specific instance to the Italian NCP regarding N.V. Bekaert S.A. and Bekaert Figline S.p.A., a Belgian multinational enterprise specialising in steel wire manufacturing.

The trade union alleged that Bekaert did not respect Chapter 5, paragraph 6 of the Guidelines (concerned with the mitigation of adverse impacts of major collective lay-offs) when it decided to close down its Figline Valdarno site, that at the time employed 318 workers. The company gave a 75-day period of notice, which the trade union believes was insufficient to mitigate against the adverse impacts to the workers.

A parallel proceeding took place at the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) dealing with the closure of the Bekaert plant in Figline. During the initial assessment of the NCP an agreement was signed between the parties on new protection measures for workers at the Bekaert plant in Figline Valdarno.

Considering that an agreement was reached, the NCP decided that a further examination of the specific instance would not contribute to the purposes and effectiveness of the Guidelines.

On 5 November 2018, the NCP issued its final statement and did not accept the specific instance.

In its statement the NCP recommends to N.V. Bekaert S.A. and Bekaert Figline S.p.A.to consider undertaking due diligence when making decisions on the closure or restructuring of facilities in order to identify, prevent and mitigate against any potential adverse impacts.