It has been renewed National Collective Agreement for managers and agricultural employees. The previous contract expired on 31 December 2015: the new agreement, which concerns 20.000 workers and 7.000 companies, was signed yesterday evening in Confagricoltura, at Palazzo della Valle in Rome and will have a duration of two years from 1-1- 2017 to 31-12-2018. Coldiretti also signed it.
“We are satisfied – he underlines the president of Confagricoltura Mario Guidi – because, despite the moment of crisis, we managed to meet the needs of managers and employees, the entrepreneur's closest collaborators. A salary increase of 2,5% was recognized. As far as the regulatory part is concerned, important innovations have been introduced regarding the flexibility of working hours and overtime".
From an economic point of view, explains Roberto Caponi, head of the trade union area of Confagricoltura, "on an average salary of 1600 euros, the increase is 40 euros and will take effect from 1 January this year". As regards flexibility, however, the annual ceiling for multi-period hours was increased from 75 to 85 hours (the contract provides for flexibility linked to the different commitment required depending on the season). As for overtime, the limits have increased from 12 to 18 hours per week.
News also for welfare: the new contract recognizes an increase of 50 euros a year, for each employee, to the Health Fund to improve performance.
"The parties have shown satisfaction with an agreement which has come to an end after a long negotiation - comments Confagricoltura - and which seems to have allowed for a balance to be found even within a complex economic framework that is not simple".
Also for Textile-Clothing and Fashion agreement was reached between Confidustria - Italian fashion system and the trade unions of the Filctem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl, Uiltec-Uil sector for the renewal of the contract 31 March 2016-31 December 2019 (over 420.000 workers involved, employed in around 40.000 companies), which expired almost a year ago.
In a nutshell, the union statement specifies, the agreement provides for an overall increase of 90 euros (minimums and contractual welfare). The increase on the minimum wage is 70 euros (4th level), divided into three tranches: from 1 April 2017, 25 euros; from 1 July 2018, 25 euros; from 1 July 2019, 20 euros.
On the side of the contractual welfare, with effect from 1 January 2018 the Sector supplementary health fund, providing for 12 euros for all workers, entirely paid by the companies. An increase (+8 euros) is also expected for the "Previmoda" supplementary pension fund, again paid for entirely by companies. The equalization element has also increased, going from the current 200 euros to 300 euros for all those companies that do not carry out second-level bargaining.
“We have overcome – say satisfied i general secretaries Filctem, Femca, Uiltec, Emilio Miceli, Angelo Colombini, Paolo Pirani – the prejudicial ones initially posed by an ex-post verification, where the wage would no longer be defined by the national contract, finding a solution shared between the parties and restoring that climate of good solid, participatory industrial relations, which has characterized the sector in all this years. Now the income of thousands of workers and their contractual welfare is safeguarded, after years that the crisis had decimated it. A sector – recall the three trade union leaders – which in the last five years alone has lost over 100.000 jobs”.
Interesting news in terms of regulations, starting from parental leave with the possibility of dividing leave into hours; provision is made for the establishment of 30 days of unpaid leave for international adoptions; set up the company delegate for continuing education.
Finally, a novelty also on the industrial policies of the sector it is represented by the establishment of a joint Observatory on company relocation policies (“reshoring”).
The stipulated agreement hypothesis - the unions say - will be jointly and immediately submitted to the approval of the workers' assemblies.
