The biggest hurdle tokeeping Alitalia in the air now is a demand by would-be buyers that airline staff accept a single contract rather than a different one for each category, Welfare Minister Maurizio Sacconi said on Monday.
Representatives from Italy's four national trade unions and the consortium put together to acquire Alitalia's flight operations hammered out a draft industrial plan at the weekend and although this was a ''significant step forward,'' the contract issue remained the single biggest stumbling block, he observed.
According to the minister, Alitalia can guarantee flight for all day Monday but problems could already arise on Tuesday.
Although the framework accord was initialed by the CGIL, CISL, UIL and UGL unions, independent unions representing the majority of Alitalia employees, including pilots and cabin staff, dismissed it as being ''useless and provocative''.
The accord envisions lifting the number of future staff to 12,500 - 1,000 more than the rescue consortium Compagnia Aerea Italiana (CAI) originally proposed.
The pilots' union Anpac said the national trade unions had made a ''very grave error'' in signing a separate accord.
The government in August modified Italy's bankruptcy laws to allow Alitalia to be split into two. One company, referred to as a new company or newco, contained Alitalia's profitable flight operations and was put up for sale with CAI presenting an offer.
A 'bad company' was also created with the airline's loss-making ground and cargo activities, as well as the company's massive debt, and is slated for liquidation.
The government has delayed liquidating Alitalia in order to give time to CAI to strike an agreement with unions.
