Fewer redundancies, down from 6.000 to 5.200 with voluntary early retirements, and 2.600 new hires of young people on permanent contracts. These are the key figures of the agreement reached by Unicredit and the unions regarding the "Team 23" strategic plan, signed on Thursday and announced after the closing of the Stock Exchange. The plan provides that a further 800 employees, in addition to the 5.200 who will opt for early retirement, will be retrained and used in new professional roles rather than included in the redundancy package. As for hiring, in addition to the 2.600 young people, the confirmation of 900 apprenticeships in fixed-term employment contracts is expected.
The other significant element of the agreement reached with the trade unions – with respect to redundancy plan Unicredit launched in February – is the collective annual productivity bonus (€1.430 per welfare account or €880 in monetary form), with an average increase of 10% on an annual basis, which recognizes Italian employees for the Group's productivity and profitability in 2019.
Unicredit is also investing in the strengthening and in the creation of two Poles in Southern Italy (Sicily and Campania) for the centralization of back office activities and customer management. The Group - specifies the note announcing the agreement - will further expand its welfare offer and will invest in initiatives to improve the Work Life Balance (the home-work balance) of its employees through, for example, the introduction of 10 days paid paternity leave and the progressive increase in the amount of the meal voucher.
It should also be noted that, thanks to the agreement reached, the pension fund contribution will increase to 4% for apprentices during the first three years of employment. Furthermore, the current health and life insurance policies are confirmed structurally. A new insurance coverage was also introduced in the event of predecease to protect employees who have taken out a mortgage.
“With the conclusion of the agreements in Austria, Germany and Italy
the Team23 targets in terms of impact on personnel were achieved” states the Unicredit note which underlines how the agreed agreement has found a solution “in a positive and socially responsible way. This helps to strengthen the competitiveness, productivity and profitability of the Group, to the benefit of all stakeholders".
Positive comments from the trade unions starting with First Cisl. “The agreement is an important result and the 2.600 expected hires represent a sign of hope for a country going through one of the darkest moments in its history. As for the negotiation, we managed to clearly improve the conditions that had been presented to us with the letter initiating the procedure", he says the national secretary of First Cisl, Mauro Incletolli. The secretary general of Fisac-Cgil, Giuliano Calcagni, highlights "the positive reduction of redundancies from 6000 to 5200, with 800 professional requalifications, confirmed the one-to-two replacement ratio with 2600 hirings of young people on permanent contracts". As' the secretary general of Fisac-Cgil, Giuliano Calcagni, he comments on the agreement on the employment effects of the Team 23 plan. "The attention to the South is good - he adds - with the establishment of two poles in Naples and Palermo, meal tickets at 6 euros and 7 euros at the end of the plan".
