Black smoke in the latest salary adjustments negotiations domestic workers: from 18st January the salaries of housekeepers, carers and babysitters will increase, but at the expense of the employer, and therefore of the families. Why? On the occasion of the third meeting, which was held at the Ministry of Labour, of the National Commission for salary updating relating to the figures contemplated in the national contract for domestic work, the agreement was not found. It was the last meeting scheduled for domestic work by the National Collective Labor Agreement before triggering the application of theArticle 38. In fact, the domestic labor collective bargaining agreement provides for an adjustment to 80% of inflation in the event of no agreement or absence of the parties after the third meeting. A sting for families already in serious difficulty with all the price increases this year. But say How much do the salaries of cleaners and carers increase?
Domestic cleaners and carers salaries: what does article 38 of the National Collective Labor Agreement provide?
The text provides for an annual adjustment of the minimum levels of wages based on inflation, recorded by Istat on 30 November of each year. "After the third call, in the event of no agreement or absence of the parties, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security is delegated by the contracting Organizations and Associations to determine the periodic variation of the minimum wage, according to the provisions of paragraph 1, in an equal amount to 80% of the variation in the cost of living for the families of white collar workers and blue collar workers surveyed by Istat as regards the minimum contractual wages and to an extent equal to 100% for the conventional values of food and lodging." In the end, that's exactly what happened.
How much do the salaries for carers and babysitters increase?
It was Fidaldo (Italian Federation of Domestic Work Employers) who did the math, which is made up of the Nuova Collaborazione, Assindatcolf, Adlc and Adld associations. According to Istat data, inflation in November was 11,8%, this means that the salaries of cleaners and carers will increase by 9,2%. For families that apply the contractual minimum wages to their family collaborators, the increases coming from 2023 may fluctuate according to the profile of the worker from a minimum of 109 euros per month to a maximum of 145 euros.
For the non-cohabiting carers for non self-sufficient people who work 30 hours a week, the monthly increase in the payroll is equal to approximately 85 euros (from 926,9 to 1012 euros). To this figure, however, must be added the severance pay accrual, the thirteenth month and holidays, which increase the price increase by a few tens of euros.
The increase is instead greater for i cohabiting carers with non self-sufficient people, who will see their minimum monthly salary increase by 95 euros, which becomes at least 125 considering also thirteenth salary, holidays and severance pay (almost two thousand euros more per year).
This is why the employers' associations had asked for the increases to be staggered during the year, in order to limit the economic impact of the increases on family budgets already affected by the high bills and the rise in petrol prices.
High rate of irregularities in domestic work
From the fourth annual report on domestic work by the Domina association, which will be presented to the Senate on Friday 20 January, it emerges that the domestic sector is still at the top of the sad classification of sectors for irregularity rate (52,3%), against a national average of 12%. Total domestic workers are around 2 million, less than half of whom are in good standing. And without the agreement, undeclared work is likely to increase. The president and vice president of Fidaldo Andrea Zini is convinced of this. And in view of the renewal of the national sector contract, which expired in December, Zini warns: "we will be more rigid and intransigent".
