Transparency & Corruption, Pensions/retirement, Health, Italy, Croatia, Armenia

The FP-CGIL public service federation reports that the latest official data show that there were 16000 incidents of aggression against health and social care personnel in 2023, affecting 18000 workers. The statistics were published in the 2023 report from the National Observatory on the Safety of Health and Social Care Professionals which was established in January 2022 and is made up of the Ministries of Health, Interior, Economy and Finance and Labour, other government agencies, trade unions and regional professional associations. Nurses were the most affected by incidents of aggression

After lengthy negotiations a new public sector pay structure is in place that means significant increases to the coefficients used to calculate salaries for different occupations. Overall public sector workers are set to benefit on average by 13.5% in comparison to pay levels in 2023. Most unions are generally happy with the new system, including the HSSMS-MT nurses’ and health workers’ union which is one of 11 to sign the public sector collective agreement. However, other unions, including teaching unions, are unhappy with the outcome and argue that the new system fails to deliver appropriate

The Fp Cgil, Cisl Fp and Uil Fpl public service federations have brought two collective agreements in private social care together and are working on consolidation with a third. The unions have signed the agreement for the period 2020-22 covering the National Association for Public Assistance (ANPAS) and the National Confederation of the Misericordie d'Italia, secular and religious providers of health, social care and other services. The aim is to create a single sector agreement covering providers of social and health assistance, medical transport and emergency out-of-hospital care. The next

The FP-CGIL, CISL-FP and UIL-FPL public service federations called off strike action planned for 31 January after the ARIS private sector health employers’ organisation agreed to sign a bridging agreement as called for by the unions. This means that there is now a temporary agreement with both the ARIS and AIOP employer organisations that allows for negotiations to begin to create a single, sector agreement covering all employees of both organisations. The bridging agreement provides for additional remuneration for different categories of workers ranging from €40 to €318.50 for a 13-month

A proposed new system of public sector pay has been criticised by unions for failing to provide salary coefficients for different occupations that would be a fair reflection their skills, workloads and responsibilities. The HSSMS-MT health workers’ union has called for proper recognition of nurses’ level of education and have made clear that it feels its members have been less fairly treated than doctors who are taken action against the proposals. The SDLSN union has also expressed concern, particularly on behalf of its members in the Ministry of Justice who took strike action last year over

The Fp Cgil, Cisl Fp and Uil Fpl public service federations have declared a day of strike action and protests on 31 January in their continuing campaign to secure a bridging agreement with the ARIS non-profit health employers’ association. ARIS has rejected the proposal that aims to provide a basis for negotiations to start that would lead to a collective agreement that covers both the ARIS and AIOP private health employer organisations. The unions are determined to secure improvements to pay and conditions for workers who haven’t had an update to the collective agreement for 11 years. The aim

The three public service federations – FP-CGIL, CISL-FP and UIL-FPL – have signed a draft agreement with the ARAN agency for public sector employers that covers over 13,000 managers and senior staff in local and health authorities. The agreement is the last in the public sector covering the 2019-2021 period and means the unions can now focus on the next round of bargaining. There are three main pay grades covered by the agreement and along with a basic increase of €135 a month there will be additional increases related to each occupational group ranging from €104 to €174. The unions are

Following the strike action on 17 November, the Fp-Cgil, Uil-Pa and Uil-Fpl trade union federations were set to organise a national protest outside the Ministry of Economy and Finance on 7 December. The unions are calling on the government to change the budget law for 2024 to ensure funding for renewing collective agreements and providing protection for workers’ purchasing power. They also highlight the failure of the government to tackle staff shortages or make any preparation for the fact that around 700,000 workers are due to retire by the year 2030. Meanwhile, both Fp-Cgil and Uil-Fpl

The HSSMS-MT healthcare union reports that following the third round of public sector pay negotiations, unions have accepted a pay increase of 5%, an improvement on the 3% offer made in the second round of bargaining. The unions have also secured the €300 Christmas bonus that they were looking for and an Easter bonus of €100, less than they wanted but a €30 improvement on the previous offer. There is also a commitment that, should the new pay system not be in place by 1 March 2024, then negotiations would open for a general pay increase.

The HSSMS-MT health workers’ union reports that in the second round of public sector pay negotiations the government has put forward an offer of a 3% increase along with a €67.73 increase to the Christmas bonus to take it to €300 and a proposed Easter bonus of €70. This contrasts to the initial claim from public sector unions for a 15% pay increase along with bonuses of €300 for both Christmas and Easter along with other bonuses. The government argues that the introduction of a new pay system in 2024 will mean salary increases of 14%. However, the unions argue that the higher increase is

The three public service federations Fp-Cgil, Cisl-Fp and Uil-Fpl coordinated a one-day strike on 27 September against the AIOP private health and social care employers’ organisation in protest at its refusal to negotiate with them and to negotiate instead with the unrepresentative UGL trade union. The federations issued the strike warning back in July after conciliation failed to resolve the dispute with AIOP and since then the employers have failed to return to negotiations. The three federations will also mobilise during the day to put pressure on regional health authorities to take action

The FP-CGIL, CISL-FP and UIL-FPL public service federations have called a one-day strike on 27 September to put pressure on the AIOP employers’ organisation to return to negotiations over the sector agreement covering private residential and care homes. The three unions normally negotiate with AIOP and ARIS, the employer organisation representing religious providers. AIOP, however, is aiming to negotiate a different agreement with the UGL trade union – an organisation outside of the three main confederations and with links to the far right – and the unions argue that this flies in the face of

The recent campaign of protests by the HSSMS-MT and SSZSSH health unions, “We are health care”, led to a meeting with the government to discuss pay and how to ensure that nurses and other health workers do not lose out in comparison to doctors and other health professionals. The government’s promise that a new pay agreement in 2024 would resolve the issue was not enough to convince the unions who said that they cannot wait until next year to see progress. Further negotiations are now planned. Meanwhile, the SDLSN trade union has called for mediation over its claim for a €400 pay increase for

The HSSMS-MT nurses’ union with the support of the SSZSSH independent health workers’ union has been continuing its series of protests around the country, with a major demonstration planned for 12 May – International Nurses’ Day. The unions are angry that their members have been offered pay rises of only 3%-5% when doctors have been awarded 10% or more. The HSSMS-MT argues that staffing shortages are becoming acute with many workers leaving the sector because of low pay noting that hospital cooks and cleaners, for example, are on salaries below HRK 4000 (€500) a month.