“There is no continuity with Alitalia” – Corriere.it

The Italian government is directly intervening in the file ETA Airlines Under the pretext, this time through legislation, that the new company is different from the old, ie Alitalia. It is a step that not only repeats, within national borders, what has been expressed several times by the European Commission, but may serve to put an end to the numerous labor disputes initiated by former Alitalia employees to protect the agreement signed with Lufthansa.

the decision

It is read in Summary note from the Council of Ministers“Since it is so.” A jurisprudential conflict arose Regarding whether or not there is a disconnect between companies Alitalia – the Italian airline and air transport between Italy and ItalyGiven that this uncertainty is likely to have negative effects on both public legal and financial relations, it was considered necessary to agree on an interpretive rule that would exclude, in consistency with the decisions of the European Commission, that in the process of transfer from Alitalia to Italy. “There is continuity between the two companies.”

Standard

What does the new rule say? Of the drafts that courier The ones obtained do not explicitly mention Air Italy or Alitalia. We read in the article on “Provisions of correct interpretation regarding the transfer of business parks by companies admitted to the extraordinary administrative procedure” that “in line with Article 5 paragraph 1 of Directive 2001/23 /EC of the Council of 12 March 2001,Article 56, paragraph 3 bis, of the Legislative Decree of July 8, 1999, n. 270 It is interpreted that in all cases the operations carried out with the aim of liquidating the assets of the transferor and which do not constitute the transfer of ownership of the company, its branch or parts thereof for the purposes stipulated in Article 2112 of the Civil Code shall be the transfers carried out in implementation of the program referred to in Article 27 paragraph 2 (a) and B-bis) of the same legislative decree, if it is implemented on the basis of European Commission decisions that exclude economic continuity between the transferor and the transferee.”

Business unit sale

Translated: If Brussels decides that there is no economic continuity – and therefore the transfer of a commercial branch – between Italy and Alitalia, the provisions of the agreementArticle 2112 of the Civil Code Which states, “In the event of a transfer of the company”, the The employment relationship with the transferee continues, and the worker retains all rights arising from it. The carrier and the assignee shall be jointly and severally responsible for all credits that the worker had at the time of transfer.”

the reasons

Therefore, the government’s decision makes this clear Sold – for one euro – the “flying” branch of Alitalia to ETA In October 2021, there was no transfer of the corporate branch, which also dismantled the arguments of various labor lawsuits won by former employees of the old national airline specifically on the basis of that case. Last June, in Brussels, they reiterated that ETA and Alitalia were completely separate companies, and called on “local authorities” – including judges – to act accordingly.

the agreement

Labor disputes are one of the most sensitive elements of the agreement between the Ministry of Economy (ETA’s shareholder) and Lufthansa: the Germans intend to invest in the Italian carrier initially by acquiring 41% of ETA (Through a capital increase of 325 million euros). As he explained in an interview with courier Ita Airways CEO Antonino Turicchi states that the agreement with Lufthansa stipulates that “if labor disputes call into question service interruptions between Ita and Alitalia, the Germans will be able to exercise the right of withdrawal.”

Numbers

until this moment Ita Airways received 38 positive rulings – For a total of 841 applicants – And three unfavorable sentencesIn whole or in part (for a total of 244 people). There are still 34 cases pending For a total of 564 former Alitalia employees. By some estimates, the overall impact of the cases – had they all been lost – would have been roughly the same 150 million euroswhich would have lowered Ita’s valuation even further upon Lufthansa’s official entry.