Discussions between Federmeccanica and the National Secretariats of Fim, Fiom, Uilm resumed today at the Confindustria headquarters, with the 16th meeting for the renewal of the national contract for metalworkers. After a month and a half from the halt in the negotiations and after 4 hours of national strike, Federmeccanica presented itself giving a general willingness to resume discussions on all the points to find a contractual solution, reiterating that all the proposals formulated to date have an overall balance in terms of contract costs.
The Federmeccanica delegation reiterated the objective of the guarantee salary scheme presented on 22 December, which excludes 95% of metalworkers, giving only a willingness to "build a temporal graduality" within the term of the contract.
For us it is necessary to go beyond the generic statements of Federmeccanica and it is essential to enter into the negotiations. After six months of negotiations, the same positions on salary and on the contractual model cannot be reaffirmed, only giving an availability of gradualness over time. It is a step forward but not enough. We need to reopen the negotiations with a different approach and step. Six months and 16 meetings represent an "oxymoron" with the announced "renewal" of contents but also of rituals.
The problem is not only salary coverage, but also Federmeccanica's contractual arrangement. We need to start again seriously from the common goals.
The Fim-Cisl agrees on the approach that wealth is produced in the company and that this is the contractual level at which to distribute it, but the real problem is how to make decentralized bargaining and its quality certain and widespread.
In the last period, we have seen steps backwards in terms of its diffusion and quality, with an increase in individual wages paid unilaterally, made by companies without negotiation. For us, the purchasing power of wages must concern all workers and should reward those who negotiated and not vice versa.
A new phase is needed, close comparisons and on the texts and at the same time we have to work on the game on the structure of the contractual and wage system. There is no time to waste, the passage of time without getting into the heart of the negotiation spoils relationships and the contents of the negotiation. We asked for a tight, daily comparison calendar. The next meetings have been set for 10, 11, 16 and 17 May for technical comparisons on the first texts and 18 or 19 May for limited discussions with the national secretariats.
Federmeccanica has a different opinion, according to which the structure of the proposal on contract renewal "has not changed, it is a question of finding a solution together with the unions that will allow us to gradually reach our objective within the three-year period". The general manager of Federmeccanica, Stefano Franchi, at the end of today's meeting declared that “The gradual approach is the only thing we can do. The goal is always the same: to generate wealth in companies and then distribute it with the company contract and with the national contract to ensure, in all companies where there are no profits, the recovery of inflation only for workers below the minimum salary. And then we need to see how all the other pieces can be put in their place in a mosaic in which everything holds together, even the overall costs".
