In May 2009, the national agreement for 40,000 workers in the fishing industry was renewed. The deal reached foresaw changes to the structure of the pay system whereby wages are paid on a four-monthly basis. Also envisaged is a monthly pay system as in all other productive sectors. At the same time, the sectoral trade unions are negotiating the renewal of the food sector agreement in light of the recent reform of the Italian bargaining structure.
On 20 May 2009, the social partners concluded a new national collective agreement for the fishing industry, which covers some 40,000 workers. The parties to the agreement included: the Agroindustrial, Food and Environment Federation (Federazione Agricola Alimentare Ambientale Industriale, Fai-Cisl), the Italian Federation of Agroindustrial Workers (Federazione Lavoratori Agro Industria, Flai-Cgil) and the Italian Union of Agroindustrial Workers (Unione Italiana Lavoratori Agroalimentari, Uila-Uil) on the trade union side; and the National Federation of Fishing Industries (Federazione Nazionale Imprese di Pesca, Federpesca) on the employer side.
Content of agreement for fishing industry
Changes to pay structure
As part of the fishing industry agreement, the social partners agreed on a 6% wage increase over two years – 4% in 2009 and 2% in 2010 – and a change to the pay structure whereby wages are paid every three months, instead of every four months, to ensure integration with the guaranteed minimum wage (salario minimo monetario garantito, MMG). In fact, wages are not paid on a monthly basis in the fishing industry, although this has long been requested by the trade unions. Moreover, the social partners agreed on:
- adjusting the MMG for social security purposes;
- introducing an allowance of €22 a month in the absence of second-level, or company-level bargaining;
- revising the mechanisms for allocation and liquidation of the end-of-service allowance (trattamento di fine rapporto, TFR).
Health and safety, and continuing training
The most significant legal changes introduced by the agreement concern health and safety, and continuing training. More specifically, with regard to health and safety at work, this includes the full application of the provisions of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008. For the first time, the national collective agreement for the fishing industry envisages the election or appointment of workers’ safety delegates (rappresentante dei lavoratori per la salute e la sicurezza, RLSS), also for fishing boats less than 24 metres in length and with fewer than six crew members, which until the industry’s new agreement were not covered by the law. Moreover, in order to increase safety awareness, the agreement introduces 32 hours of trade union leave so that workers’ delegates can carry out inspections on boats. As regards continuing training, the agreement entitles workers to take 24 hours of paid leave to attend vocational training courses.
Substitution of workers
The agreement also contains changes concerning the substitution of workers briefly absent from work for unforeseeable reasons. Under the new agreement, substitute workers will receive a 25% pay increment. Moreover, workers who are absent from work because of sickness or injury will be given priority in re-hiring exercises. The regulation of other aspects of work organisation are to be covered by company-level bargaining in order to tie workloads to the specific needs of individual fishing fleets.
Social partner reactions to agreement
According to the General Secretary of Flai-Cgil, Stefania Crogi, the agreement represents a breakthrough for fishing workers because it revises the pay system and the safety regulations in a sector which, according to Ms Crogi, is ‘most at risk of work-related accidents’. The sectoral employer organisation, Federpesca, expressed its satisfaction with the deal, which ‘though burdensome for the employer’ is an expression of confidence in the relaunching of the entire sector, ‘in which the workers have a role of special importance in the regaining of competitiveness’.
Negotiations continue on food sector agreement
Fai-Cisl, Flai-Cgil and Uila-Uil are still engaged with the Italian Federation of Food and Drink Industries (Federazione Italiana dell’Industria Alimentare, Federalimentare) in negotiations on the renewal of the collective agreement for the food sector. The agreement expired on 29 May 2009 and covers more than 400,000 workers. The main obstacles to the renewal of the agreement relate to the economic aspects of the trade unions’ joint bargaining platform. The President of Federalimentare, Gian Domenico Auricchio, has stated that the request by the trade unions for a wage increase of €173 a month is excessive, given the current economic recession (IT0812029I) and the divergence of the pay claim from the guidelines laid down by the national multi-industry agreement signed by the Confederation of Italian Industry (Confederazione Generale dell’Industria Italiana, Confindustria) on 15 April 2009 (IT0902059I). Since that agreement was not signed by the General Confederation of Italian Workers (Confederazione generale italiana del lavoro, Cgil), the negotiations on the renewal of the agreement for workers in the food and drink industries are an important test of trade union unity (IT0905029I).
Cristina Tajani, Fondazione Seveso