Logistics workers' struggle described "as worrying as mafia-related events"

Giovanni Monti, president of Legacoop Emilia-Romagna, was reported by the Bologna edition of La Repubblica as saying that “these manipulative kind of events which are on the increase among political extremists, as we’ve seen in Bologna, and which target cooperatives and unions, are as worrying as mafia-related events”.

Submitted by StrugglesInItaly on December 12, 2013

He was referring obliquely to migrant logistics workers’ struggle during the past few months.

Monti went on to talk about “illegal acts in the logistics sector” and made a point of underlining that “cooperatives associated to Legacoop aim to guarantee decent, qualified jobs and security”.

Legacoop together with Confcooperative are two of the largest cooperative federations in Italy. They bring together associations of cooperatives, grouped by market sector, type or locality. It’s important to point out that some cooperatives that award contracts to subsidiary “false cooperatives” certainly are part of Legacoop or Confcooperative, even if most cooperatives exploiting migrant workers are not. “False cooperatives” are companies formally registered as cooperatives but which operate at the outer limits of the law, profiting from special tax treatment and exploiting workers. “False cooperatives” are often linked to criminal groups and they can easily escape fiscal and legal controls.

The Coordinamento Migranti Bologna, which supports the logistics and migrant workers’ struggle, issued a press release strongly criticizing Monti’s statements.

“How can you not see which side cooperatives are on? How can you not see the cooperatives that fire striking workers, that falsify pay-packets, that don’t respect officially signed agreements, that don’t pay contributions? It’s because of this that cooperatives make profits, with the support of silent and collaborative unions. Migrants and logistics workers’ struggles are exposing this collusion between cooperatives and unions. (…) Migrants in the logistics sector are showing another way to be a union, bringing struggles against employers directly to workplaces. We are showing that despite everything appearing legal on the surface, cooperatives as employers are able to exploit migrant workers by blackmailing them with residence permits. Migrant workers say ‘No’ to this sham legality: you’re not going to exploit our lives for your ‘cooperative’ business.”

More related articles and information are here.

Comments

Esty

10 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Esty on December 16, 2013

《“False cooperatives” are companies formally registered as cooperatives but which operate at the outer limits of the law, profiting from special tax treatment and exploiting workers》

Is this to imply that true cooperatives (within capitalism) do not exploit workers, despite the persistence of the market and the law of value?

Esty

10 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Esty on December 16, 2013

Dp

Ed

10 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Ed on December 16, 2013

Well, while we can discuss the finer points of whether co-ops under capitalism are a force for emancipation or just self-exploitation (I wouldn't say it was all one or the other), the 'cooperative sociali' being discussed here are just a completely different thing.. these are literally just companies that run outsourced labour, sometimes in the public sector (particularly in health and social care) or in this case the private sector, where they usually employ migrants at rock bottom prices. So I don't think the article is implying anything, except that these companies are really shit to work for..