Fired Costa Concordia captain asks court to reinstate him

OCTOBER 11, 2012 — Francesco Schettino, the former captain of the Costa Concordia, has appealed to a Labor Court (Giudice del Lavoro), appealing the decision of Carnival Corporation subsidiary Costa Crociere to fire him in the wake of the loss of the cruise ship which resulted in 32 deaths.

He has asked for reinstatement, back pay and damages.

“It is the right of every worker to appeal against his dismissal and Captain Schettino has done no more than exercise that right,” his lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, is quoted as saying. “There is nothing to contest or be amazed about, unless we want to say that what the law allows for all citizens doesn’t apply for Francesco Schettino.”

Meantime, Schettino faces separate, criminal, proceedings. A pretrial hearing in the town of Grosseto on Monday will establish whether prosecutors have a case against Schettino, and others who have been under investigation in the case, including Costa Crociere executives Roberto Ferrarini,, Manfred Ursprunger and Paolo Mattesi.