Upon leaving the Teatro Verdi, where the closing ceremony of the 27th Pordenonelegge took place in the presence of President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, the governor of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Massimiliano Fedriga, made his way through the crowd to where several dozen Electrolux workers had gathered behind a yellow banner reading "Electrolux non si spegne" ("Electrolux won't be switched off").
Fedriga shook hands with many of them and spent several minutes talking with them about the precarious situation facing the Porcia (Pordenone) production plant, which risks being scaled back by the multinational as part of a major downsizing involving numerous redundancies that affects Electrolux's entire presence in Italy.
The dispute "is an example of a great alliance between the trade union side, the employers' side — obviously not the ownership itself but its representation, meaning Confindustria — and the institutions," Fedriga explained to journalists immediately afterwards. "A unity of purpose that aims to safeguard employment first and foremost, but not only that: also a heritage that this land has built and that cannot be thrown away because of decisions we consider to be profoundly wrong," he added.
"I took the liberty of thanking them because they are not fighting a battle just for themselves or for their company, but for an entire community. We all hope to be able to reach a positive solution for Electrolux and its workers."
The governor then commented on Mattarella's speech, which was the centrepiece of the Pordenonelegge closing ceremony: "It struck me as being of enormous depth and very well considered," he said. "This underlines how much he cared about being here today, also to uphold the fundamental principles of freedom that he embodies as the highest institution of the state and guardian of the constitution."
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