Waste in Rome: from fighting absences to fuel theft, the difficult management of Ama

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The top management of Ama, the 100% urban hygiene company of the Municipality of Rome, is changing. Alexander Philippi was chosen as the new general manager in place of Andrew Bossola. The mayor Roberto Gualtieri himself gave the reasons: we need “profound changes” in the management of waste that still submerge the streets of Rome, to overcome “critical issues and serious irregularities”. Yet Bossola had been chosen in April 2022, taking the place of Maurice Pucciwho had held the role of acting general manager since 15 November 2021.

The swirl of names

A whirlwind of names that makes it clear how difficult the management of Ama is, and that dangerously revives Gualtieri the same nightmare of the previous administration led by the grillina Virginia Raggi, which in the first three years of administration had seen six leaders of Ama change. «Looking at the media data – Gualtieri told Radio24 on 29 June – there is an enormous gap compared to the need. Ama has a very old fleet because no one has renewed it for years. The new management has launched a plan which provides for the purchase of 600 vehicles. The purchase takes time and then we had a further stumbling block because the Tar canceled a tender from the previous administration, from 2019″

Bonus controversy

Already in the first months of administration, Gualtieri had stumbled in the management of Ama. In November 2021, to speed up waste collection ahead of Christmas, the company and the unions signed an agreement to guarantee extraordinary cleaning. A productivity bonus for those who postponed their holidays but only with the objectives achieved, i.e. streets cleared of waste. An agreement that had prompted Ama to clarify that the bonus did not concern the illnesses, a reference that had made those who saw some form of donation to ex-sneaky redeemed by money cry out in scandal. The fact remains that even now the absences they are a problem for the company, which in the 1st quarter of 2023 had reached an absence rate of 16.68%, which fell slightly to 15.76% in the following quarter.

The call of the unfit

Last March, again with the aim of guaranteeing more men for the collection, Ama had announced the signing of an agreement with the trade union organizations. «All the employees, who had previously been judged by the medical commissions temporarily “unsuitable” for operational services in the area – explained the company – will be called to undergo a new visit. For these workers there are two possibilities that concern the company: if they are confirmed unfit on the basis of the medical diagnosis, being under 60 in 2023 they will be able to ask for part-time work; having more than 60 years of age, on the other hand, they will be suspended from service and from salary in application of article 44 of the CCNL”.

Fuel theft

Much more serious was the story of the theft of fuel. «Eighteen people at risk of trial, other seven who have already negotiated. From the papers of the investigation into the theft of fuel to the detriment of the municipal waste company, a shocking figure emerged: from 2017 to 2020, 2,064 employees stole petrol and diesel from Ama vehicles. Almost one in three, given that the municipal company staff is made up of around 7,000 people», wrote Il Messaggero last May, speaking of 300,000 liters stolen. A story that also had the corollary of the attack on three operators who had reported the thefts.