PRESS RELEASE
National Collective Bargaining Agreement for Professional Firms, Guarini: "This renewal will revitalize the sector. We must continue along this path, breathing new life into the macroeconomic role of collective bargaining."
Rome, February 19, 2024 – "A contract renewal that revitalizes the sector and finally restores purchasing power to the over 600,000 workers in professional firms and businesses, predominantly women, by establishing decent wage increases and updating the regulations to reflect industry developments and current legislation." This is how Davide Guarini, Secretary General of Fisascat Cisl, commented on the draft agreement signed with the employers' association Confprofessioni on the new National Contract for Professional Firms.
"Now we must continue along this path through collective bargaining," the union representative added, "and define the contract renewals expected by millions of workers in the market service sectors. This is a necessary step to ensure adequate working conditions in line with current labor market standards." "It is necessary to infuse new vitality into the macroeconomic function of collective bargaining. This perspective," Guarini concluded, "entails the urgent need to reformulate and strengthen the role of collective bargaining in determining wage increases that not only protect workers' purchasing power but also help support domestic consumption."
Aurora Blanca, national secretary of the CISL federation, emphasized the significant regulatory changes emerging from the agreement. "In a delicate historical period, where data depicts a reality in which women are the most vulnerable in the labor market," she stated, "the agreement aims to address this challenge, particularly evident in professional firms, a sector characterized by the prevalence of female employment." "A crucial aspect of the agreement," the union representative emphasized, "is the promotion of work-life balance, a goal achieved through the regulation of smart working. This working modality not only offers female workers greater opportunities to manage their personal and professional commitments, but also contributes to reducing gender inequality in the workplace."
Blanca also emphasized "the attention paid to parenthood," highlighting "the concrete commitment to combating the 'empty cradle' phenomenon. To address this issue, the parties have decided to invest in parenthood by improving compensation during mandatory leave. This is a fundamental step to ensure adequate support for workers who become parents, promoting a work environment that supports family life." "Also important is the recognition of each worker's individual right to training and the focus on health issues, through the establishment of a paid leave day dedicated to prevention," she added.
"Also of great value," the union representative emphasized, "is the strengthening of decentralized bargaining and the enhancement of bilateral agreements, which in this sector has always represented a form of negotiated welfare aimed at improving benefits for workers and their families, as well as for professionals." "In this sense," Blanca concluded, "the establishment of the bilateral agency's local offices, which follows up on the agreement signed between the parties in 2017, responds to the need to facilitate and expand awareness of and access to the benefits provided by bilateral agreements."
