The meeting brought together 24 delegates from nine EU Member States and provided an important opportunity for workers’ representatives to exchange with ENI’s central management on the group’s strategic plan, employment developments and the industrial transition facing the company and the wider energy and chemical sectors.

Tamás Székely, President of the Hungarian Federation of Chemical and Energy Workers (VDSZ), addressed the severe crisis currently affecting Europe’s chemical industry and its consequences for workers and industrial sites.

Trade union leaders from the Italian federations FILCTEM CGIL, FEMCA CISL and UILTEC highlighted ENI’s social responsibility and discussed the major challenges facing the industry. They underlined the importance of the EWC as a forum for meaningful information, consultation and dialogue, as well as the need to invest in innovation, training and reskilling to ensure that workers are equipped for the transformations ahead.

The Italian unions called on ENI management to further strengthen social dialogue with trade unions and workers’ representatives, creating space for more substantial and forward-looking discussions about the future of the company, its sites and its workforce.

ENI must be part of the solution

IndustriAll Europe highlighted the wider industrial emergency facing Europe. Tens of thousands of quality industrial jobs are being lost, while plant closures and restructuring are accelerating across key strategic sectors.

IndustriAll Europe called on all delegates to support the Enough is Enough campaign, which demands urgent European action to defend industrial jobs, strengthen manufacturing and secure a socially just transition.

The message to ENI was clear: major European industrial companies have a responsibility to invest in Europe, safeguard quality employment and work with trade unions to manage the transition. ENI must be part of the solution to Europe’s industrial crisis, not part of the problem.

Preparing for the new EWC Directive

The meeting also included a detailed presentation and discussion of the amended European Works Council Directive and its implications for workers’ information and consultation rights.

In light of the changing European legal framework, ENI group management, industriAll Europe and the Italian trade unions signed a two-year extension of the current ENI EWC agreement.

The extension will provide the parties with sufficient time to assess the implications of the amended Directive and prepare thoroughly for negotiations on a new EWC agreement.

For industriAll Europe, strong European Works Councils and effective social dialogue are essential to ensure that workers have a genuine say in strategic decisions affecting investment, restructuring, employment and the future of Europe’s industrial sites. As ENI navigates major technological, industrial and energy transformations, workers and their trade unions must be involved from the outset.