Osborne Clarke with a team led by partner Marco Lanzani, and associate Giulia Leardi successfully acted for Club Med before the Court of Termini Imerese, in proceedings against the UILTUCS Sicilia Trade union.
On 24 May the unions, and in particular UILTUCS Sicilia, brought proceedings pursuant to art. 28 of the Workers' Statute against Club Med, which claim was rejected by the the Employment Judge at Termini Imerese.
More specifically UILTUCS Sicilia had complained of anti-union behaviour on the part of the company which had allegedly refused to perform an agreement signed with the unions in 2005; at the reopening of the Cefalù holiday village on 4 June 2018 (after 13 years' closure) Club Med had not rehired a numbers of ex employees - 43 in ttoal - who had previously worked at the same village in 2005 and who claimed a preemption right in rehiring on the basis of that agreement.
The Court held that there had not been any anti-union behaviour on the part of Club Med and held that the 2005 agreement had also been terminated by the company in 2010. The claim which was a special and emergency procedure led Club Med and its lawyers in Osborne Clarke to prepare a full defence within an extremely short period of time to avoid the unions' actions having a prejudicial effect and causing huge economic loss to the client and its hundred of newly hired employees, in view of the imminent opening of the holiday location.
Notwithstanding the outcome of the proceedings and the absence of any obligation with regards to its ex-employees, Club Med in any case intends to comply with its undertakings given over recent weeks to the Region of Sicily favouring, insofar as possible, the rehiring of ex-employees having professional requisites in line with the resort's quality standards. On 13 April, during a meeting held at the offices of the Region, the company had in fact undertaken to examine all theCVS sent by UILTUCS, so as to consider any possible rehiring at the Cefalù village or to send the names of the candidates to the companies to which the client outsources certain hospitality services.
