180 euro increase on minimums for industrial laundry workers

The 25,000 workers in the industrial laundries, tourism, and healthcare sectors will receive an increase on the minimum wage of EUR 180 and an overall increase of EUR 188, after Assosistema Confindustria and Filctem, Femca, and Uiltec reached an agreement on the hypothesis for the renewal of the national collective labour agreement that expired last 31 December. For the unions, after the tensions of recent weeks, the agreement reached makes it possible to 'rebuild a path of understanding and reach an economically and normatively congruous renewal', which safeguards 'the purchasing power and welfare of those who work in the sector'. Now it will be up to the workers' assemblies to vote on the agreement that has been reached and that will be valid for the three-year period 2026-2028. Matteo Nevi, general director of Assosistema Confindustria explains that 'with this renewal the sector sends a clear message: the competitiveness of companies also passes through certain rules, legality, quality of work, and the ability to innovate. We have constructed a contract that provides concrete answers to the difficulties of finding labour, the new organisational needs of companies, and the technological transformations that are affecting the sector. A renewal that reinforces the quality of work, the correct application of the contract, and the sector's capacity to face the challenges of healthcare, tourism, and industry'.

For the economic part, the new contract provides for an average total increase (TEC) of EUR 188, referred to level B1. The wage increase on the minimums (TEM) for both sectors, tourism and health, will be EUR 180, or 9.8 per cent increase, distributed in 4 tranches: EUR 50 from May 2026, EUR 20 from December 2026, EUR 50 from October 2027 and EUR 60 from October 2028. According to the unions' calculation, the total amount will be EUR 3,500 of which EUR 100 in welfare paid by March 2027. Also for the economic part, the equalisation element, for companies that do not carry out 2nd level bargaining, will increase from 350 to 380 euros during the contract term.

The agreement reached also improves contractual welfare with the contribution to the supplementary pension fund Previmoda rising by 0.1% and to be borne by the companies. For the FASIIL health fund, the contribution, again to be borne by the companies, will rise from EUR 12 to EUR 15. In addition, for victims of gender-based violence, there will be coverage of the FASIIL contribution by companies during the leave period.

In the regulatory part, industrial relations are improved, with the strengthening of the permanent Observatory for the digital transition and the Joint National Laundry Body on health and safety and the National Observatory. On the right to study, the 150 hours have been extended to university courses. Finally, the guidelines for solidarity hour bank, reasonable accommodation, active ageing and diversity, equity and inclusion were signed, and a joint commitment was shared by companies and trade unions to ask the institutions for the inclusion of jobs in the sector among the so-called 'usurious' jobs. The percentage share of fixed-term contracts was reduced from 35 to 30 per cent.

On the reduction of working hours for all shift workers the ROL will increase to 56 hours from 2027, for the working cycles of the surgical instrument sterilisation units, organised on 6 and 7 days, will be increased to 68 and 80 hours respectively. In addition, dressing time for sterilisation has been recognised: 10 minutes per day, as of 2026 and 15 minutes, as of January 2027.