Italy: the representativeness of trade unions and employer associations in the banking sector
In the Italian banking sector there are 11 trade union organisations and five employer associations. Of the latter, the ABI, is particularly representative. The sector has not suffered excessively due to the international financial crisis because it is specialised in traditional activities which depend little on the international financial activities linked to the crisis. Almost 34% of the Italian banking market is covered by two large groups, which have expanded through mergers since 2000. The sector is regulated through four national collective agreements, three of which are applied by the majority of enterprises. Collective bargaining in the sector takes place mainly at central/national level.
1. Sectoral properties
The banking sector considered in this study is defined in terms of NACE classification as embracing all activities of NACE 64, except for central banking (64.11)
Economic background
The Italian financial sector and in particular the banking system has very specific characteristics which differentiate it from other European countries. It is specialised in traditional activities that depend little on the market and are closely regulated and monitored by the Bank of Italy. These aspects, together with the low exposure of the banking industry to the financial activities which were implicated in the crisis, limited the impact of the slump, which started in the summer of 2007. Consequently, the crisis had little effect on occupational levels and industrial relations in the Italian banking system.
The crisis mainly affected non-banking financial intermediaries. The reduction in investments and consumption has had a deep impact on specialised credit (leasing, factoring, retail credit).
At the end of 2008, there were 799 banks and 81 groups operating in the Italian financial sector. By the end of 2009, the number of banks had dropped to 788 due to takeovers, mergers or closures (in five cases). At the end of 2009, there were 75 banking groups.
In the past ten years there have been numerous mergers in the Italian banking system, resulting in the creation of two large banking groups – Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit – which control 33.9% of Italian banking activity. Three other medium-sized groups (Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banco Popolare and Unione di Banche Italiane) account for 18.6% of the system. A total of 51 groups and individual banks of medium to small size account for 35% , while 590 small intermediaries which operate predominantly at local level make up 12.5% of the market (Bank of Italy, Annual Report for 2009).
Development of employment
| 1996 | 2008 | |
| Number of companies in the sector | 0 | 5,973 |
| Source of company data | . ISTAT, Archivio Statistico delle Imprese Attive, ASIA, 2007. Data refer to number of branches/units, not institutions. | |
| Aggregate employment | 390,301 | 392,177 |
| Male employment | 252,216 | 253,429 |
| Female employment | 138,085 | 138,748 |
| Share of sectoral employement in % | 1.78 | 2 |
| Source of employment figures | ISTAT, Census of industry and services, 1996; Istat, Contabilità Nazionale 1970–2008; The data for the percentage of female and male workers has been estimated through data from Istat, Census of industry and services 2001. | ISTAT, Archivio Statistico delle Imprese Attive, ASIA, 2008; Istat, Census of industry and services 2001. The data for the percentage of female and male workers has been estimated through data from Istat, Census of industry and services 2001. |
| Aggregate employees | 375,737 | 384,889 |
| Male employees | 236,493 | 242,253 |
| Female employees | 139,244 | 142,636 |
| Share of sectoral employees in % | 2 | 2 |
2. The sector’s trade unions and employer associations
This section includes the following trade unions and employer associations:
(i) trade unions which are party to sector-related collective bargaining (In line with the conceptual remarks outlined in the background information included in the accompanying excel spreadsheet, we understand sector-related collective bargaining as any kind of collective bargaining within the sector, i.e. single-employer bargaining as well as multi-employer bargaining. For the definition of single- and multi-employer bargaining, see 4.2)
(ii) trade unions which are a member of the sector-related European Union Federation (i.e. UNI-Europa – Finance)
(iii) employer associations which are a party to sector-related collective bargaining
(iv) employer associations (business associations) which are a member of the sector-related European Employer/Business Federations (i.e. EBF – European Banking Federation, including EBF’s BCESA – Banking Committee for European Social Affairs; ESBG – European Savings Banks Group and EACB – European Association of Co-operative Banks)
The representative organisations operating in the sector are as follows:
For the workers:
- the Italian Federation of Insurance and Credit Workers’ Unions (Federazione Italiana Sindacale Lavoratori Assicurazione e Credito, FISAC), affiliated to the General Confederation of Italian Workers (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, CGIL);
- the Italian Banking and Insurance Workers Federation (Federazione Italiana Bancari e Assicurativi, FIBA ), affiliated to the Italian Confederation of Workers’ Trade Unions (Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori, Cisl);
- the Union of Italian Credit, Collection and Insurance Workers (Uil Credito Esattorie e Assicurazioni, Uilca), affiliated to the Union of Italian Workers (Unione Italiana del Lavoro, Uil);
- Ugl Credito, affiliated to the General Union of Workers (Unione Generale del Lavoro, Ugl);
- the Autonomous Credit and Allied Services Union (Sindacato Autonomo Lavoratori del Credito Enti Assimilati, Silcea);
- the Independent Federation of Italian Banking Workers (Federazione Autonoma Bancari Italiani, Fabi);
- the Independent Federation of Italian Credit and Savings Workers (Federazione Autonoma Lavoratori del Credito e del Risparmio Italiani, Falcri);
- the National Trade Union Association for credit, financial and banking management staff (Associazione Sindacale Nazionale dell’Area Direttiva e delle Alte professionalità del Credito, della Finanza, delle attività similari e strumentali, delle Fondazioni bancarie e delle Authorities o Agenzie nazionali comunque denominate, Dircredito Fd);
- the National Federation of Independent Trade Unions – Credit, Finance and Insurance Personnel (Federazione Nazionale Sindacati Autonomi – Personale di Credito, Finanza e assicurazioni, Sinfub).
- the Italian Trade Union of Workers of the Credito Cooperativo (Sindacato Italiano Lavoratori del Credito Coperativo, SILCCO)
- the National Trade Union of Managers of the Credito Cooperativo (Sindacato Nazionale Dirigenti del Credito Cooperativo, SINADI)
For the employers:
- the Italian Banking Association (Associazione Bancaria Italiana, Abi)
- the Italian Federation of the Banks of the Cooperative Credit – Agricultural and Artisan Banks (Federazione Italiana delle banche di Credito Cooperativo – Casse Rurali ed Artigiane, FEDERCASSE)
- the Association of Foundations and of Savings Banks (Associazione di Fondazioni e di Casse di Risparmio Spa, ACRI)
- the National Association of the Popular Banks (Associazione Nazionale fra le Banche Popolari, ASSOPOPOLARI)
- the General Association of Italian Cooperatives (Associazione Generale Cooperative Italiane, AGCI)
2a Data on the trade unions
| Affiliation to multinational organisations | Union Network International, UNI Global Union |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | UNI Europe |
| Affiliation to national-level organisations | Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, CGIL |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Union's domain with regard to sector | overlap |
| Domain overlap with other unions in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following unions in the sector | Fiba, Uilca, Ugl Credito, Silcea, Fabi, Falcri, Dircredito, Sinfub, Silcco, Sinadi |
| ‘Active’ union members total (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members (incl. non-employed), total | n.g. |
| ‘Active’ union members in the sector (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members in the sector, total (incl. non-employed) | n.g. |
| Female membership as % of total members | n.g. |
| Union density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – active members | n.g. |
| Union density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – total members | n.g. |
| Description of union's domain with regard to sector | Fisac represents the workers in the following sectors: Banks, Insurance, Financial houses, Authorised tax collection companies, Central Bank |
| Affiliation to multinational organisations | UNI Global Union |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | UNI Europe |
| Affiliation to national-level organisations | Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori, CISL |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Consultation in sector-related matters | yes |
| Union's domain with regard to sector | overlap |
| Domain overlap with other unions in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following unions in the sector | Fisac, Uilca, Ugl Credito, Silcea, Fabi, Falcri, Dircredito, Sinfub, Silcco, Sinadi |
| 2009 | |
| ‘Active’ union members total (in employment) | 90,000 |
| Union members (incl. non-employed), total | 90,000 |
| ‘Active’ union members in the sector (in employment) | 70,000 |
| Union members in the sector, total (incl. non-employed) | 70,000 |
| Source of sectoral membership figures | Est. Social Partner |
| Union density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – active members | 18% |
| Sectoral domain density – active members | 18% |
| Union density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – total members | 18% |
| Sectoral domain density – total members | 18% |
| Description of union's domain with regard to sector | Fiba represents workers in the following sectors: Banks, Insurance, Financial houses, Authorised tax collection companies |
| Representation of other groups than employees in the sector | yes |
| Affiliation to multinational organisations | UNI Global Union |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | UNI Europe |
| Affiliation to national-level organisations | Unione Italiana del Lavoro, UIL |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Union's domain with regard to sector | overlap |
| Domain overlap with other unions in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following unions in the sector | Fisac, Fiba, Ugl Credito, Silcea, Fabi, Falcri, Dircredito, Sinfub, Silcco, Sinadi |
| 2009 | |
| ‘Active’ union members total (in employment) | 44,698 |
| Union members (incl. non-employed), total | 44,698 |
| ‘Active’ union members in the sector (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members in the sector, total (incl. non-employed) | n.g. |
| Female membership as % of total members | n.g. |
| Source of sectoral membership figures | Est. Social Partner |
| Union density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – active members | n.g. |
| Union density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – total members | n.g. |
| Description of union's domain with regard to sector | Uilca represents workers in the following sectors: Banks, Insurance, Financial houses, Authorised tax collection companies |
| Affiliation to multinational organisations | UNI Global Union |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | Uni Europe |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Union's domain with regard to sector | overlap |
| Domain overlap with other unions in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following unions in the sector | Fisac, Fiba, Uilca, Ugl Credito, Silcea, Falcri, Dircredito, Sinfub, Silcco, Sinadi |
| 2009 | |
| ‘Active’ union members total (in employment) | 92,000 |
| Union members (incl. non-employed), total | 92,000 |
| ‘Active’ union members in the sector (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members in the sector, total (incl. non-employed) | n.g. |
| Female membership as % of total members | n.g. |
| Union density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – active members | n.g. |
| Union density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – total members | n.g. |
| Description of union's domain with regard to sector | Fabi represents workers in the following sectors: Banks, Financial houses, authorised tax collection companies |
| Affiliation to multinational organisations | Uni Global Union |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | Uni Europe |
| Affiliation to national-level organisations | Confederazione Generale dei Sindacati Autonomi dei lavoratori, CONFSAL |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Consultation in sector-related matters | yes |
| Union's domain with regard to sector | overlap |
| Domain overlap with other unions in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following unions in the sector | Fisac, Fiba, Uilca, Ugl Credito, Silcea, Fabi, Dircredito, Sinfub, Silcco, Sinadi |
| 2009 | |
| ‘Active’ union members total (in employment) | 20,000 |
| Union members (incl. non-employed), total | 20,000 |
| ‘Active’ union members in the sector (in employment) | 19,000 |
| Union members in the sector, total (incl. non-employed) | 19,000 |
| Female membership as % of total members | 1 |
| Source of sectoral membership figures | Est. Social Partner |
| Union density – active members | 5% |
| Sectoral density – active members | 5% |
| Sectoral domain density – active members | 5% |
| Union density – total members | 5% |
| Sectoral density – total members | 5% |
| Sectoral domain density – total members | 5% |
| Description of union's domain with regard to sector | Falcri represents workers in the following sectors: Banks, Authorised tax collection companies |
| Representation of other groups than employees in the sector | yes |
| Affiliation to multinational organisations | UNI |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | Fédération Européenne des Cadres des Etablissements du Crédit, FECEC; Conféderation Européenne des Cadres, CEC; European Federation of Employee share ownership, EFES |
| Affiliation to national-level organisations | Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati dell'Area Direttiva e delle Alte Professionalità dei settori pubblico e privato, FEDERDIRIGENTI |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Union's domain with regard to sector | sectional overlap |
| Domain overlap with other unions in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following unions in the sector | Fisac, Fiba, Uilca, Ugl Credito, Silcea, Fabi, Falcri, Sinfub, Silcco, Sinadi |
| ‘Active’ union members total (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members (incl. non-employed), total | n.g. |
| ‘Active’ union members in the sector (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members in the sector, total (incl. non-employed) | n.g. |
| Female membership as % of total members | n.g. |
| Union density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – active members | n.g. |
| Union density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – total members | n.g. |
| Description of union's domain with regard to sector | Dircredito represents middle management and high skilled professionals in the Italian banking sector and related activities. |
| Affiliation to national-level organisations | Federazione Intersindacale Dipendenti Credito Cooperativo, FIDICC |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Union's domain with regard to sector | sectionalism |
| Domain overlap with other unions in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following unions in the sector | Fisac, Fiba, Uilca, Ugl Credito, Silcea, Fabi, Falcri, Dircredito, Sinfub, Sinadi |
| ‘Active’ union members total (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members (incl. non-employed), total | n.g. |
| ‘Active’ union members in the sector (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members in the sector, total (incl. non-employed) | n.g. |
| Female membership as % of total members | n.g. |
| Union density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – active members | n.g. |
| Union density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – total members | n.g. |
| Description of union's domain with regard to sector | Silcco represents workers in the co-operative banks. |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | CEC |
| Affiliation to national-level organisations | FIDICC |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Domain overlap with other unions in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following unions in the sector | Fisac, Fiba, Uilca, Ugl Credito, Silcea, Fabi, Falcri, Dircredito, Sinfub, Silcco |
| 2009 | |
| ‘Active’ union members total (in employment) | 897 |
| Union members (incl. non-employed), total | 1,060 |
| ‘Active’ union members in the sector (in employment) | 897 |
| Union members in the sector, total (incl. non-employed) | 1,060 |
| Female membership as % of total members | 0 |
| Source of sectoral membership figures | Est. Social Partner |
| Union density – active members | 3% |
| Sectoral density – active members | 0% |
| Sectoral domain density – active members | 0% |
| Union density – total members | 4% |
| Sectoral density – total members | 1% |
| Sectoral domain density – total members | 1% |
| Description of union's domain with regard to sector | Sinadi represents managers in the co-operative banks. |
| Representation of other groups than employees in the sector | yes |
| Domain overlap with other unions in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following unions in the sector | Fisac, Fiba, Uilca, Ugl Credito, Fabi, Falcri, Dircredito, Sinfub, Silcco, Sinadi |
| ‘Active’ union members total (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members (incl. non-employed), total | n.g. |
| ‘Active’ union members in the sector (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members in the sector, total (incl. non-employed) | n.g. |
| Female membership as % of total members | n.g. |
| Union density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – active members | n.g. |
| Union density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – total members | n.g. |
| Description of union's domain with regard to sector | Silcea represents workers in credit and allied services |
| Affiliation to multinational organisations | UNI Global Union | |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | CEC | |
| Affiliation to national-level organisations | Confederazione Unitaria Quadri, CUQ | |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes | |
| Type of membership | voluntary | |
| Consultation in sector-related matters | yes | |
| Union's domain with regard to sector | overlap | |
| Domain overlap with other unions in sector | yes | |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following unions in the sector | Fisac, Fiba, Uilca, Ugl Credito, Silcea, Fabi, Falcri, Dircredito, Silcco, Sinadi | |
| 2009 | ||
| ‘Active’ union members total (in employment) | 4,794 | |
| Union members (incl. non-employed), total | 7,680 | |
| ‘Active’ union members in the sector (in employment) | 4,646 | |
| Union members in the sector, total (incl. non-employed) | 5,023 | |
| Female membership as % of total members | 0 | |
| Source of sectoral membership figures | Est. Social Partner | |
| Union density – active members | n.g. | |
| Sectoral density – active members | 1% | |
| Sectoral domain density – active members | 1% | |
| Union density – total members | n.g. | |
| Sectoral density – total members | 1% | |
| Sectoral domain density – total members | 1% | |
| Description of union's domain with regard to sector | Sinfub represents workers in the following sectors: Credit, Insurance, Finance | |
| Representation of other groups than employees in the sector | no | |
| Affiliation to national-level organisations | Unione Generale del Lavoro, UGL |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Union's domain with regard to sector | overlap |
| Domain overlap with other unions in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following unions in the sector | Fisac, Fiba, Uilca, Sinfub, Silcea, Fabi, Falcri, Dircredito, Silcco, Sinadi |
| ‘Active’ union members total (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members (incl. non-employed), total | n.g. |
| ‘Active’ union members in the sector (in employment) | n.g. |
| Union members in the sector, total (incl. non-employed) | n.g. |
| Female membership as % of total members | n.g. |
| Union density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – active members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – active members | n.g. |
| Union density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral density – total members | n.g. |
| Sectoral domain density – total members | n.g. |
| Description of union's domain with regard to sector | Ugl Credito represents workers in the following sectors: Credit, Finance, Insurance, Authorised tax collection companies |
2b Data on the employer associations
The representative organisations of employers have specific characteristics.
The organisations which participate in bargaining are the ABI, FEDERCASSE and, for a small part of the sector, the AGCI.
The Assopopolari and the Acri do not stipulate national collective agreements, but the enterprises which are members of these two associations apply the Abi National Collective Agreement.
The Assopopolari is an association which acts as a coordinator between the popular banks. For collective bargaining it refers to the Abi.
The Acri is an association which serves as a link between the Banking Foundations and also acts as their institutional representative. However, for collective bargaining it refers to the Abi.
The Federcasse stipulates a specific national collective agreement for the banks involved in credit for cooperatives. It is a member of the Abi and enterprises affiliate with them directly. The majority of the banks that offer credit to cooperatives affiliate with the Federcasse.
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | European Banking Federation, EBF; European Mortgage Federation, EMF |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes |
| Consultation in sector-related matters | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Organisation's domain with regard to sector | sectional overlap |
| Domain overlap with other organisations in sector | no |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following organisations | n.g. |
| 2009 | |
| Number of member companies, total | 1,418 |
| Number of employees in member companies total | 383,000 |
| Number of member companies in sector | 559 |
| Number of employees in member companies in sector | 343,432 |
| Source of membership figures | Est. Social Partner |
| Sectoral density – employees | 89% |
| Sectoral domain density – employees | 97% |
| Description of organisation's domain with regard to sector | Abi is the most representative employers’ organisation in the sector. It represents banks which employ about 90% of the workers in the sector. |
| Representation of particular subgroups of enterprises | No |
| Affiliation to multinational organisations | Internazional Raiffeisen Union, IRU |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | European Association of Cooperative Banks, EACB |
| Affiliation to national-level organisations | Confederazione Cooperative Italiane, CONFCOOPERATIVE |
| Engagement in sectoral related collective bargaining | yes |
| Consultation in sector-related matters | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Organisation's domain with regard to sector | sectionalism |
| Domain overlap with other organisations in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following organisations | Agci |
| 2009 | |
| Number of member companies, total | 480 |
| Number of employees in member companies total | 35,000 |
| Number of member companies in sector | 480 |
| Number of employees in member companies in sector | 35,000 |
| Source of membership figures | Est. Social Partner |
| Domain density – companies | 96% |
| Sectoral domain density – companies | 96% |
| Sectoral density – employees | 9% |
| Description of organisation's domain with regard to sector | The organisation represents only banks that deal in cooperative credit. |
| Affiliation to multinational organisations | International Confederation of Popular Banks, CIBP |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | European Association of Cooperative Banks, EACB |
| Affiliation to national-level organisations | ABI |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | no |
| Consultation in sector-related matters | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Organisation's domain with regard to sector | sectionalism |
| Domain overlap with other organisations in sector | no |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following organisations | n.g. |
| 2009 | |
| Number of member companies, total | 102 |
| Number of employees in member companies total | 83,500 |
| Number of member companies in sector | 102 |
| Number of employees in member companies in sector | 83,500 |
| Source of membership figures | Est. Social Partner |
| Sectoral density – employees | 22% |
| Description of organisation's domain with regard to sector | The organisation represents only popular banks |
| Representation of particular subgroups of enterprises | Yes, popular banks |
| Affiliation to multinational organisations | World Savings Banks Institute, WSBI |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | European Savings Banks Group, ESBG |
| Engagement in sectoral related collective bargaining | no |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Organisation's domain with regard to sector | sectionalism |
| Domain overlap with other organisations in sector | no |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following organisations | n.g. |
| Number of member companies, total | n.g. |
| Number of employees in member companies total | n.g. |
| Number of member companies in sector | n.g. |
| Number of employees in member companies in sector | n.g. |
| Source of membership figures | Own calculation |
| Description of organisation's domain with regard to sector | The organisation represents savings banks. |
| Affiliation to multinational organisations | International Cooperative Alliance, ICA |
| Affiliation to European-level organisations | The European Confederation of Cooperatives and worker-owned enterprises active in industry and services, CECOP (CICOPA Europe), European Agri-cooperatives, COGECA, Cooperatives Europe (the Europe region of the ICA) |
| Engagement in sector-related collective bargaining | yes |
| Consultation in sector-related matters | yes |
| Type of membership | voluntary |
| Organisation's domain with regard to sector | sectional overlap |
| Domain overlap with other organisations in sector | yes |
| Domain overlaps occur with the following organisations | Federcasse |
| 2009 | |
| Number of member companies, total | 6,874 |
| Number of employees in member companies total | 21,418 |
| Number of member companies in sector | 75 |
| Number of employees in member companies in sector | 1,002 |
| Source of membership figures | Est. Social Partner |
| Domain density – companies | 8% |
| Sectoral density – companies | 1% |
| Sectoral density – employees | 0% |
| Description of organisation's domain with regard to sector | The organisation represents only cooperative enterprises. |
| Representation of particular subgroups of enterprises | Yes, small and medium enterprises |
3. Inter-associational relationships
3a Inter-union relationships
3a.1 Please list all trade unions covered by this study whose domains overlap.
The following 11 trade unions overlap: Fisac, Fiba, Uilca, Ugl Credito, Silcea, Fabi, Falcri, Dircredito, Sinfub, Silcco, Sinadi.
3a.2 Do rivalries and competition exist among the trade unions, concerning the right to conclude collective agreements and to be consulted in public policy formulation and implementation?
Relations between the nine sectoral trade union organisations that undersign the most important sectoral collective agreement at national level (Fisac, Fiba, Uilca, Ugl Credito, Silcea, Fabi, Falcri, Dircredito and Sinfub) are traditionally good with joint collaboration. There is no particular rivalry or competition between the various organisations, but for the past few years Falcri has negotiated separately from the others.
There may be a little competition between the above-mentioned organisations and Silcco and Sinadi, which undersign the less important national collective agreement.
3a.3 If yes, are certain trade unions excluded from these rights?
No
3b Inter-employer association relationships
3b.1 Please list all employer associations covered by this study whose domains overlap.
Federcasse, Agci
3b.2 Do rivalries and competition exist among the employer associations, concerning the right to conclude collective agreements and to be consulted in public policy formulation and implementation?
No. Most of the enterprises in the banking sector are members of the Abi and Federcasse. There is, however, the Agci, which stipulates a national collective agreement independently with two trade union organisations (Silcco and Sinadi) for the banks that offer credit to cooperatives. Few banks, however, are members of the Agci.
3b.3 If yes, are certain employer associations excluded from these rights?
No
3b.4 Are there large companies or employer associations which refuse to recognise the trade unions and refuse to enter collective bargaining?
No
4. The system of collective bargaining
In the sector, there are four national collective agreements which are applied by most of the enterprises and a national collective agreement which concerns only a small part of the sector.
4.1. Estimate the sector’s rate of collective bargaining coverage (i.e. the ratio of the number of employees covered by any kind of collective agreement to the total number of employees in the sector).
100% (estimated data by Pierluigi Ledda, official of Fiba Department for training and research).
4.2. Estimate the relative importance of multi-employer agreements and of single-employer agreements as a percentage of the total number of employees covered. (Multi-employer bargaining is defined as being conducted by an employer association on behalf of the employer side. In the case of single-employer bargaining, it is the company or its subunit(s) which is the party to the agreement. This includes the cases where two or more companies jointly negotiate an agreement.)
The sectoral national collective agreement stipulated with the sectoral employer associations (multi-employer agreements) is more important than the second-level agreements, stipulated with single enterprises or groups (single-employer agreements). The national collective agreements establish the norms and financial aspects (industrial relations, salary, working time, supplementary pension, vocational training, etc.). Benefits and salary rises are set in company agreements.
The sectoral national collective agreements cover about 100% of the employees of the sector. The second-level bargaining covers about 95% of the employees.
4.2.1. Is there a practice of extending multi-employer agreements to employers who are not affiliated to the signatory employer associations?
It is possible but rare. Almost all the enterprises are members of a representative organisation.
4.2.2. If there is a practice of extending collective agreements, is this practice pervasive or rather limited and exceptional?
The national collective agreements are regulated according to private law and when applied should only include enterprises and workers of organisations which sign them. Art. 36 of the Italian Constitution states that workers must be guaranteed a salary which is ‘sufficient and able to assure the worker and family a free and dignified existence’, but adds that this salary level cannot be established by law. For more than 50 years in all sectors, there has been a jurisprudential procedure which has resulted in judges considering a salary to have met the requirements outlined in the Constitution when it has been established in a national collective agreement stipulated by the most representative employer and trade union organisations.
The national collective agreement, therefore, represents de facto the norm to be referred to for all workers and enterprises in the sector. If an enterprise pays lower salaries than those established in the national collective agreement which should be applied in the sector, workers can appeal to a magistrate and obtain what is established in the agreement. This, however, often means losing their job. In fact, appeals are usually made by workers following dismissal.
In practice, thanks to the jurisprudential procedure mentioned above, for more than 50 years the national collective agreement has been applied to all workers and enterprises in the sector in question, so guaranteeing a potential cover for all the workers of the sector.
4.3. List all sector-related multi-employer wage agreements* valid in 2008 (or most recent data), including for each agreement information on the signatory parties and the purview of the agreement in terms of branches, types of employees and territory covered.
The last national collective agreement in the banking sector specified the renewal of the sectoral NCA every three years (IT0802029I). It established that the economic aspects will be renewed with the normative part every three years. Therefore, in the sector there is no separate economic bargaining taking place two years following the stipulation of the national collective agreement.
4.4. List the sector’s four most important collective agreements (single-employer or multi-employer agreements) valid in 2008 (or most recent data), including for each agreement information on the signatory parties and the purview of the agreement in terms of branches, types of employees and territory covered. Importance is measured in terms of employees covered.
| Bargaining parties | Purview of the agreements | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sectoral | Type of employees | Territorial | |
| Abi Dircredito-Fd, Fabi, Falcri, Fiba, Fisac, Silcea, Sinfub, Ugl Credito, Uilca | Banking (IT0802029I) | All (excl. senior managers) | National |
| Abi Dircredito-Fd, Sinfub. Per adesione: Fabi, Falcri, Fiba, Fisac, Silcea, Ugl Credito, Uilca | Banking | Senior managers | National |
| Federcasse Dircredito-Fd, Fabi, Falcri, Fiba, Fisac, Silcea, Sinfub, Ugl Credito, Uilca | Banking (Banks initially offering credit to cooperatives; Agricultural and Artisan Banks) | Two separate agreements One for senior managers and the other for all types of employees | National |
| Agci Silcco, Fidicc | Cooperative banks | All types of employees | National |
5. Formulation and implementation of sector-specific public policies
5.1. Are the sector’s employer associations and trade unions usually consulted by the authorities in sector-specific matters? If yes, which associations?
Banking social partners are usually consulted.
In the period between 1998 and 2007, the sectoral representative organisations which undersigned the most important sectoral national collective agreements played an important role in the management and regulation of the conspicuous reorganisations and mergers which took place in the sector (IT0609029I, IT0706019I). In this period, two important agreements were stipulated regarding concertation, one in 1997 (IT9706115N) for the management of the reorganisations and one in 2004 (IT0408104N) regarding corporate social responsibility.
5.2. Do tripartite bodies dealing with sector-specific issues exist? If yes, please indicate their domain of activity (for instance, health and safety, equal opportunities, labour market, social security and pensions etc.), their origin (agreement/statutory) and the interest organisations having representatives in them:
In the sector there are two national bipartite bodies and many company or group bodies. The latter are generally funds for employee health expenditure or social security and pension funds. Since the nineteenth century the sector has been characterised by an excellent system of support for the employees, which is difficult to find in other private production sectors in Italy.
| Name of the body and scope of activity | Bipartite/tripartite | Origin: agreement/statutory | Trade unions having representatives (reps) | Employer associations having reps. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FBA Fondo Banche Assicurazioni ( Inter-professional Fund for Continuous Vocational Training) | Bipartite | Agreement | CGIL, CISL, UIL | ABI, ANIA (Insurance) |
| CASDIC (National Fund for health assistance for the employees in the Credit Sector) | Bipartite | Agreement | Dircredito-FD, Fabi, Falcri, Fiba, Fisac, Silcea, Sinfub, Ugl Credito, Uilca | ABI |
| FONDIR Joint National Interprofessional Fund for the continuous vocational training of tertiary managers | Bipartite | Agreement | Sinfub, Dircredito | Abi, ANIA (Insurance) |
6. Statutory regulations of representativeness
6a Statutory regulations of representativeness for trade unions
6a.1 In the case of the trade unions, do statutory regulations exist which establish criteria of representativeness which a union must meet, so as to be entitled to conclude collective agreements? If yes, please briefly illustrate these rules and list the organisations which meet them.
No, for more details, see the answer to 6b.2.
6a.2 In the case of the trade unions, do statutory regulations exist which establish criteria of representativeness which a union must meet, so as to be entitled to be consulted in matters of public policy and to participate in tripartite bodies? If yes, please briefly illustrate these rules and list the organisations which meet them.
No, for more details, see the answer to 6b.2.
6a.3 Are elections for a certain representational body (e.g. works councils) established as criteria for trade union representativeness? If yes, please report the most recent electoral outcome for the sector.
The level of representativeness of each trade union organisation depends on the results of the elections of the representatives of the RSU (Rappresentanze Sindacali Unitarie; unitary workplace union) or the RSA (Rappresentanze Sindacali Aziendali; plant-level union structures) in the workplace.
All the trade unions, including the smaller ones, can participate in negotiations for the renewal of the national collective agreement. It is generally in the interests of companies to negotiate with as many trade unions as possible because it prevents internal conflict.
The enterprises usually aim to bargain with organisations which represent at least 50% of the workers in the company.
During the subsequent decentralised negotiations, only the organisations which have signed the National Collective Agreement can participate.
In the financial sector, there are only RSA. There is no data available regarding the RSA. However, there is a high level of trade union representativeness of around 73%.
6b Statutory regulations of representativeness for employer organisations
6b.1 In the case of the employers organisations, do statutory regulations exist which establish criteria of representativeness which an organisation must meet, so as to be entitled to conclude collective agreements? If yes, please briefly illustrate these rules and list the organisations which meet them.
No, for more details, see the answer to 6b.2.
6b.2 In the case of the employer’s organisations, do statutory regulations exist which establish criteria of representativeness which an organisation must meet, so as to be entitled to be consulted in matters of public policy and to participate in tripartite bodies? If yes, please briefly illustrate these rules and list the organisations which meet them.
No.
In Italy, in the private sector, there is no law which establishes the criteria to follow when determining trade union or employers’ associations’ representativeness.
The law 300/1970 (workers’ statute of rights) establishes workers’ trade union rights and the rights and duties of trade union representatives. The law states there is one condition in order to allow the trade union organisations which sign the national collective agreement to nominate a representative on the workplace: a minimum of 15 employees for industrial enterprises and five employees for agricultural enterprises.
Additional measures regarding individual and collective union rights are agreed upon and stipulated in the national collective agreements which define, among other things, the criteria to be used when selecting representatives in the bilateral or trilateral bodies.
The forms of representation are regulated by law, while more general rights are regulated through an inter-confederal agreement stipulated in 1993 and through sectoral agreements.
6b.3 Are elections for a certain representational body established as criteria for the representativeness of employer associations? If yes, please report the most recent outcome for the sector.
For the employer associations, there are no bodies which establish representative weight. In fact, it is calculated according to number of affiliated enterprises in each association.
7. Commentary
Representativeness in the financial sector seems to be well regulated with two employer organisations that represent almost all the enterprises in the sector. Furthermore, a high number of workers are affiliated to various trade unions. There are nine principal sectoral unions which undersign the Abi and Federcasse national collective agreements.
There has been a long tradition of joint collaboration between the trade unions in the banking sector, despite the fact many are of varying origins and have different objectives. This close collaboration, together with the specific economic characteristics of the sector, has always favoured the workers – guaranteeing them a privileged position in matters regarding both rights and benefits and remuneration.
Vilma Rinolfi, Cesos