Italy
The one-day strike over new contracts in the private healthcare sector was a great success according to the trade unions with participation topping 80% and 90% in some regions. The unions were also pleased with the national demonstration in Rome which attracted 20,000 workers from the sector.
Read more at > FPCGIL
The three public service federations have been mobilizing in recent weeks to put pressure on the government to ensure that public sector pay increases are properly funded. Pay agreements will now cover three-year periods rather than two and in the past unions have negotiated pay increases with the ARAN negotiating body only to find that the government causes problems by failing to allocate resources in the budget. The FP CGIL federation organized a public sector wide strike on 11 December while the CISL and UIL federations organized a range of demonstrations around the country beginning on 2
The HSSMS-MT nurses’ and technicians’ trade union is supporting over 1000 of its members in legal claims to secure compensation for underpaid overtime. The issue dates back to 2016 since when overtime pay rates for many workers failed to take account of certain allowances. The union has invited the health ministry to negotiate over the issue and to avoid the time and cost of the legal process but the court cases continue. It is estimated that the total amount of underpaid overtime is HRK 614 million, around EUR 80 million.
Around 150,000 workers in the private health sector are still waiting for their collective agreement to be renewed 32 months after it expired. The latest negotiations between the unions and employers broke down despite attempts at conciliation by the Minister for Employment. Further action is now being considered by the unions after the holiday period ends. Read more at > FP-CGIL (IT)
