Wages guarantee fund extended for Fiat workers

In April 2006, the Italian government approved a measure aimed at preventing over one thousand dismissals at Fiat Auto, the leading Italian motor manufacturing group. The measure provided for an extension of the wages guarantee fund, which will help safeguard the incomes of the workers affected.

Context

The ongoing conflict (IT0601305F) – which has also been exacerbated by Italy’s difficult economic situation – between the government, the trade unions and Italy’s main motor manufacturing company, Fiat Auto, seems to have come to an end, at least temporarily.

On 5 April 2006, the Italian government approved a measure to safeguard the jobs of 1,233 redundant workers, 856 of whom were employed at Fiat’s Mirafiori plant and 377 of whom were employed at the group’s Arese plant. This measure allows for an extension of the wages guarantee fund (Cassa Integrazione Guadagni, CIG) for the affected workers at both manufacturing plants. The CIG is a special public fund used as a safety net to protect workers’ incomes for no longer than 24 months, as provided for by law. Both companies and the state finance the fund and the National Institute of Social Insurance (Istituto Nazionale per la Previdenza Sociale, INPS) is in charge of its administration.

Provisions for redundant workers

In all, 856 workers at Fiat’s Mirafiori plant are being made redundant. Although the CIG was due to expire on 22 May 2006, it has now been renewed from that date for 156 of the affected workers, and extended to 30 September 2006. It is hoped that, by this date, these 156 workers will have been redeployed elsewhere. A further 700 workers will benefit from the CIG from October to December 2006.

In relation to the workers affected at the Arese plant, the recently extended CIG will cover these workers from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2006.

In addition to these provisions, several organisations in the Piedmont and Lombardy regions, where the Mirafiori and Arese plants are respectively located, have committed themselves to implementing all the necessary measures aimed at assisting the redundant workers. These measures include training and relocation programmes and re-employment by other companies.

The relevant social partners will also meet before 31 December 2006, when the CIG is due to expire, in order to review the situation regardless of Fiat’s performance. By that time, workers who are still without employment are likely to be placed on a labour mobility scheme.

Response of the trade unions

The trade unions expressed their satisfaction with the agreement signed, particularly with the extension of the CIG for such a large number of redundant workers. As underlined by Bruni Vitali, National Secretary of the Federation of Italian Metalworkers (Federazione Italiana Metalmeccanici, Fim-Cisl) – affiliated to the Italian Confederation of Workers’ Unions (Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori, Cisl) – it represents a positive agreement, which although only temporary, will help to prevent over 1,000 [dismissals](/search/node/areas OR industrialrelations OR dictionary OR definitions OR dismissals?oldIndex) and, even more importantly, will leave room for new solutions. Eros Panicali, Secretary General of the Union of Italian Metalworkers (Unione Italiana Lavoratori Metalmeccanici, Uilm), affiliated to the Union of Italian Workers (Unione Italiana del Lavoro, Uil), considered the agreement to be a highly important one, as it allowed more time to look for alternative solutions and tools to those adopted by the government so far. Industrial Relations Manager at Fiat, Paolo Rebaudengo, shared this opinion.

According to Roberto di Maulo, Secretary General of the Italian Federation of Metalworkers and Related Industries (Federazione Italiana Sindacati Metalmeccanici ed Industrie Collegate, Fismic), the agreement will not solve the company’s problems, but it will provide more time for the social partners to reach a final agreement before December 2006.

Marta Santi, Cesos