Fiom-Cgil holds strike in metalworking

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On 7 November 2003, the Fiom-Cgil trade union organised an eight-hour strike in the Italian metalworking industry as part of its campaign for the reopening of negotiations on the sector's collective agreement, which was signed in May 2003 by employers and the other two main metalworkers' unions, Fim-Cisl and Uilm-Uil. Reports differ greatly on the level of participation in the strike.

On 7 May 2003, a [new sectoral collective agreement](http://www.uil.it/uilm/Comunicati_stampa/0507_TESTO CCNL 2003.htm) for metalworking was signed by Federmeccanica- the metalworking employers’ association affiliated to Confindustria- the Italian Metal-Mechanical Federation (Federazione Italiana Metalmeccanici, Fim), affiliated to the Italian Confederation of Workers' Unions (Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori, Cisl), and the Union of Italian Metal-Mechanical Workers (Unione Italiana Lavoratori Metalmeccanici, Uilm), affiliated to the Union of Italian Workers (Unione Italiana del Lavoro, Uil) (IT0305204F).

The Italian Federation of Metalworkers (Federazione Impiegati Operai Metallurgici, Fiom), affiliated to the General Confederation of Italian Workers (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, Cgil) did not sign this agreement, strongly criticising its terms. According to Fiom-Cgil, the agreement's wage increase is not sufficient to sufficient to recover lost purchasing power, while it introduces some forms of employment flexibility which represent a step backward from the previous agreement (IT9907249F). Moreover, Fiom-Cgil questions the validity of the agreement because it believes that the signatory unions do not represent a majority of the sector's 1.5 million workers. Furthermore, according to Fiom-Cgil, national sectoral collective agreements, once concluded by trade union representatives, should be voted on by all workers and, depending on the result, should come in force or be overturned. Thus, for Fiom-Cgil, the May agreement is not valid because it was not signed by Fiom-Cgil - which claims to represent a majority of unionised metalworkers - and was not submitted to a vote among workers.

Cisl believes, on the contrary, that representatives elected by workers should decide on the validity of a national sectoral collective agreement, avoiding as far as possible recourse to a referendum of the whole workforce. Trade union members make up a minority of the workforce and such a referendum would allow workers who are not trade union members to have a say on a trade union decision.

After Fim-Cisl and Uilm-Uil signed the metalworking agreement, Fiom-Cgil called for negotiations to be reopened. It also initiated company-level bargaining to conclude 'pre-agreements' (pre-contratti) - company agreements intended to anticipate the contents of a future new sectoral accord - and thereby compel the employers’ associations to reopen national negotiations (IT0310205F). It has achieved some success in obtaining such agreements, but its initiative has been controversial among employers' organisations.

Furthermore, an eight-hour national strike in the metalworking sector was called by Fiom-Cgil on 7 November 2003 to seek the reopening of negotiations on the sectoral collective agreement, to call for recognition of a right for workers to vote on unions' bargaining platforms and on agreements concluded, and to demand a law on trade union representativeness.

Data on the number of workers participating in the strike were more divergent than usual. According to Fiom-Cgil, 70% of workers in the sector took part in the strike, while employers put the figure at 15%. The organisers calculated that about 200,000 people took part in a march organised in Rome, while police put attendance at 15,000.

The national secretary of Fiom-Cgil, Gianni Rinaldini, spoke at the demonstration in Rome and called for the introduction of a law on trade union representativeness and for the repeal of the recent law 30/2003 on reform of the labour market (the 'Biagi law') (IT0307204F). Guglielmo Epifani, the general secretary of Cgil stated that the strike 'was not called against Fim and Uilm' and invited Cisl and Uil to participate in 'a joint response to workers’ malaise'.

Cisl and Uil have strongly criticised Fiom-Cgil’s actions. Savino Pezzotta, the general secretary of Cisl, invited Mr Epifani to make an appeal for unity to Fiom-Cgil, adding 'we did not refuse to sign the agreement, it was Fiom’s decision to approach the issue in a different way.' According to Luigi Angeletti, the general secretary of Uil, 'the strike will have no consequences'.

Roberto Biglieri, the general director of the Federmeccanica employers' organisation, has ruled out any further sectoral negotiations: 'We will never sit at the bargaining table to renew the national collective agreement; we already have an agreement which is juridically valid and legal.'