Puglia forestry workers demand permanent contracts to fight wildfires

The Flai Cgil Puglia trade union is calling for urgent action regarding the regional forestry and wildfire prevention system in Puglia, Italy. Antonio Ligorio, the general secretary of Flai Cgil Puglia, has demanded the stabilization of temporary workers employed by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (Arif).

Ligorio noted that despite previous commitments, the union has not yet received a meeting to discuss the permanent hiring of workers or the reporting of resources needed to extend working days. The union argues that investing in territory maintenance is essential to prevent environmental emergencies that carry much higher economic and social costs.

Additionally, the union is requesting extraordinary government intervention to ensure that spending on wildfire prevention services is recognized as 'financially neutral.' They are seeking to have these costs excluded from the constraints of the stability pact to allow the region to hire permanent staff and ensure effective territorial protection.