Italian minister calls on unions to help with strike at Milan stock exchange

ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s Industry Ministry has called unions to discuss the first strike at the Milan Stock Exchange, but talks will not take place until after the planned walkout.

The union action is planned for June 27. The unions said they called for the action because of fears of job cuts and divestment plans by the Italian stock exchange owner Euronext.

The ministry said it would meet with unions at the request of Industry Minister Adolfo Urso in the week following the planned strike on July 3. A separate meeting with representatives of the Milan Stock Exchange is planned for the following week.

The unions Fabi, First Cisl and Fisac ​​​​Cgil have scheduled their strike for the last two working hours of June 27, followed by other forms of worker protests on the following days.

Euronext – which operates the securities markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris – completed its acquisition of the Italian stock exchange in April 2021.

The 4.3 billion euro (4.6 billion dollar) deal has made Italy a major revenue driver for the group.

The takeover of Borsa Italiana, formerly part of the London Stock Exchange Group, was a politically sensitive issue in Italy. The main reason for this is the ownership of the MTS platform, on which 2.4 trillion euros worth of Roman government bonds are traded.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Keith Weir)