It took six hours but finally the white smoke arrived. Confindustria and trade unions reached a unitary agreement on contracts and unions yesterday evening, which was also joined by the CGIL for the first time in 4 years.
This is the crucial passage of the agreement: if a company agreement is approved by the majority of the Rsu (the unitary union representatives) or of the RSA (the company union representatives), the rules become effective for all personnel "in force of the company" and they bind all the trade union organizations that have signed the agreement itself.
Thus, after 17 months – as the president of Confindustria Emma Marcegaglia underlined – the time of trade union divisions ends and the leadership of the secretary general Susanna Camusso is strengthened in the CGIL. However, the agreement - due to resistance from the CGIL - does not have retroactive effect on the criteria envisaged on the subject of representation and enforceability of company agreements.
A point that could have been applied to the Fiat agreements of Pomigliano and Mirafiori, which have already been signed in recent months after furious controversies with the radical wing of the CGIL, represented by Fiom. In this regard, Marcegaglia stated that "we will talk to Fiat" and that with this agreement "we are moving towards the logic of making company contracts more enforceable and certain".
There is no doubt, however, that this is a weak point of the agreement and that Lingotto's response remains to be seen. However, the turning point also opens a new phase in the union house and above all in the CGIL because the Fiom will have to adapt, except risk being placed in receivership. The protocol also establishes the principle of truce to avoid violations and strikes, without retroactive effect.
On the manoeuvre, which has risen from 43 to 47 billion, but of which only 1,8 this year, the Tremonti line has held, also thanks to the minister's availability for dialogue. Tomorrow the Council of Ministers will approve it together with the draft law on tax reform, which does not provide for any immediate tax cuts.
There are still many controversial points both on taxation (merchants and artisans do not want the VAT increase), and on raising the retirement age of women and on the increase in contributions for semi-subordinate workers. In the coming years, a flurry of health care tickets will be triggered. Crackdown on the cost of politics.
