Italian trade unions have recently secured important agreements with leading banking and finance institutions to improve pay and conditions for staff.
The Intesa Sanpaolo banking group will extend a four-day week and smart working practices to a large number of its branches, following an agreement with unions including First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil and Uilca, which also clarifies the right to disconnect. Intesa Sanpaolo is Italy's largest private employer, with 74,000 employees. A second agreement at the end of May focuses on pay transparency and redistribution of profits: with special emphasis on lower salaries which could see a rise of over 20%. “€155 million of incentive wages will derive from collective bargaining, which will still increase significantly in the event of better group results than in the predetermined budget,” said Fisac-Cgil negotiator Roberto Malano.
“This is certainly a positive result,” added Fedele Trotta of First-Cisl. “Wages are protected, and the role of collective bargaining is strengthened.”
The unions have reached a second agile working agreement with the Generali insurance and asset management group, offering most staff three remote-working days per week along with conditions for disconnecting and flexible working for carers. The group employs over 13,000 people in Italy. Meanwhile, utility provider Acea has signed a People and Participation Charter with unions including Filctem-Cgil, Flaei-Cisl, Uiltec and Femca-Cisl, aimed at defining a new participatory, people-centred industrial relations model and individual and collective well-being.
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