Vasco supports IMS workers on Facebook

Vasco Rossi has got involved in the situation of the “record factory”, and has done so using the means that he finds most convenient for relating to his audience, his Facebook page, which has more than two million fans. After the numerous appeals by the employees of IMS, the company based in Caronno Pertusella, which the rock star visited in the past, because it was printing copies of his records and CDs, Vasco Rossi decided to respond also on Facebook, following a few press releases to ANSA (the Italian Associated Press Agency), in which he expressed his solidarity with the workers who are losing their jobs.

The latest message is different, though, it is more intimate and direct. “The ‘record factory’ is threatening to close … and it’s as though the dream factory were closing,” the singer-songwriter said on Facebook. “The workers are in danger of losing their jobs, and they’ve asked for help from me, the person who sings on the discs … Some say, ‘With all the money you’ve got’ … I could pay their keep for six months … then we’d be back at the beginning again … “my” money would be finished and I … would certainly be able to count on a bowl of soup at your house.”

The reply is to a request made by the workers for a visit by Vasco to the non-stop protest that they’ve been making for almost three weeks outside the company. The request was made so that the situation the workers are in is not forgotten, but also to remember that they themselves have contributed to his success for years. It is a request for visibility, which Vasco welcomed with these words: "It’s a serious matter, and I can do little, but I can bring them visibility, and keep up the attention … and that’s what I’m doing,” he said. “But if the country is merrily going to the dogs, it’s not my fault … I’m a musician … and we’ve had enough of the “governments”.” In just a few hours, this message was seen by thousands of people and shared on hundreds of Facebook notice boards.

The situation at IMS is not easy. Some workers have gone back to work temporarily, to finish off supplies. Following numerous protests, all of the employees have just received their salaries for September, and next week, they hope to receive the salaries for October. On Friday, there is a meeting with the owners, to understand if there is a buyer for certain branches of the company. If there isn’t, 130 workers could soon end up without jobs. Meanwhile, this reply by Vasco will certainly help to keep the attention on the situation of the company and its employees.