After months of controversy, strikes and stasis the negotiation on the national contract for metalworkers seems to have officially reopened. During the meeting held today, 28 September, Federmeccanica and the trade unions reached a meeting point on the new proposal presented by the Italian Metalworking Industry Union Federation which partially accepts the requests of the various trade union associations relating to wage increases.
Over the previous months, this was the fundamental point that had caused the negotiations to stall: on the one hand, Fiom-Cgil, Fim-Cisl and Uilm, who were asking payroll recoveries for everyone, on the other Federmeccanica which had instead proposed a minimum guarantee wage that would have rewarded (according to the unions) only 5% of the audience of beneficiaries.
The proposal presented today by the Federation led by Fabio Storchi envisages instead of guaranteeing all workers, in the final balance, the recovery of real inflation: 100% in 2017, 75% in 2018 and 50% in 2019. At the same time, corporate welfare will be strengthened, also by resorting to supplementary pensions. Federmeccanica supported the hypothesis of reducing the minimum contribution payable by the worker (1,2%), reinforcing that paid by companies (from 1,6% to 2%)
Satisfied with the comment of Federmeccanica's number one, Fabio Storchi, on the sidelines of the meeting: “We are at the last metre. We have presented an improvement proposal and we believe that there is little room for negotiation from now on". “Our proposal – added Storchi – intends to shift the barycentre of bargaining in the company by increasing wages and corporate and contractual welfare to allow companies to reduce costs and increase benefits for workers”.
“After the mobilizations of Federmeccanica workers – says the general secretary of the Fim Cisl, Marco Bentivogli – was forced to formulate a new proposal that surpasses that of last December 22 on which it had remained anchored which, according to Storchi, meets the union demands".
According to Bentivogli, the agreement could be close provided that Federmeccanica changes its negotiating attitude. "So far the business association has been stuck for nine months on an armored proposal - explains the trade unionist - despite knowing that it would never have had any chance of becoming a contract, just to consolidate consensus within it".
On the question of wages, the number one of the Fim Cisl has no doubts: “The inflationary catch-up must be recognized in full and for everyone with the calculation bases shared in the previous contracts and recognize only 50% of inflation in 2019 when the highest recovery is instead expected. If inflation is finalized after 18 months, arrears must be recognized with protection mechanisms, otherwise too many months without purchasing power protection remain heavily uncovered”.
“Furthermore – continued Bentivogli – for us at Fim, company bargaining must be extended and qualified, and this can only be done with a territorial dimension. On this point, resurrecting the equalization element of €485 is a setback compared to the availability of 22 December 2015. The Contract will not be innovative if it does not extend, distinguish and qualify the two levels, extending the second. It's good to think about tax-free flexible benefits that increase the purchasing power of wages. The need to profoundly change the professional framework remains in the background. Let's stop talking about Industry 4.0 if we are not willing to go beyond the professional framework of '73””.
The next meeting between the parties has been set for 12 October.
