Banking contract, suspension of terms takes hold at Abi

At Abi the hypothesis of suspending the terms of the bankers' contract, which expires at the end of the month, is gaining ground. If the meetings of the Cabina di regia on digital between the Trade Union and Labour Affairs Committee, led by President Ilaria Dalla Riva, and the trade unions (Fabi, First, Fisac, Uilca and Unisin) do not make great strides forward, in yesterday's discussion a 'technical' detail of no small importance emerged, which could be formalised in the coming days. That is, an agreement for a conventional suspension of the terms, which is therefore neither a true extension, nor an extension that would not be favourable either to the workers or to the banks. This solution would allow the union to be able to ask for arrears once the contract has been renewed, as was the case with the last record renewal with the average increase of EUR 435, which also recovered most of the arrears.

In this context, for Fabi secretary general Lando Maria Sileoni, 'the management of Casl must be characterised by the utmost professionalism and clarity. Taking time without knowing how to take time can not only give rise to legitimate reactions on the part of the unitary union, but at the same time does not respect the workers and the banking groups themselves'.

In the background are thecabina di regia negotiations, but also, in perspective, the renewal of the bodies of the Italian Banking Association in July. The general secretary of Fisac CGIL, Susy Esposito, considers the role of the Directive cabin on digital to be central and says she is 'firmly convinced that the changes taking place in the sector must be governed. In particular, the impact that the digital transformation is having on employment, work organisation, roles and career paths. This also requires updating the declarations and professional profiles'. The other objective, adds Esposito, 'is an absolute novelty for the sector, namely the climate survey, which will have to measure the well-being of bankers, between old and new workloads'. This is how the 'advance bargaining envisaged by the national contract' will be implemented. In this regard, just on the eve of this contract renewal, the unions are speeding up the timetable, so much so that this time, perhaps for the first time, they are ahead as never before in the drafting of the claim platform.

Now, however, to make progress there is first of all the negotiations on the control room. Sileoni also says that, in the next three meetings, he expects 'a yes or no vote, so that everyone will be informed about the status of the negotiations on the climate survey, the contractual forecasts of the control room, and then the effects of digital on work. In the meantime we are in the process of finalising the drafting of the new platform for the renewal of the contract, which will be presented to the workers' and employees' assemblies for approval. On the part of the unitary union there is the utmost clarity on timing, procedures and deadlines, on the part of the Casl of Abi we cannot say the same'.