Puglia: agreement with the trade unions to secure permanent posts for 1,112 nurses and healthcare assistants
Permanent appointments will help to safeguard services that are at risk in many facilities, but community homes are still short-staffed
After three days of meetings and negotiations, the regional government and the relevant trade unions (FP CGIL, CISL FP and UIL FP) have signed an agreement to offer permanent contracts to 1,112 nurses and social care workers. The permanent appointment process covers both the procedures already underway for 404 nurses (290) and social care workers (114), as well as all staff in post as at 31 December 2025 who will meet the legal requirements by the end of this year, thereby enabling a further 263 nurses and 275 social care workers to be appointed to permanent posts. In addition to these, the stabilisation process will include all those who, although not in service at the end of 2025, have already met the requirements set out in current legislation, namely a further 64 nurses and 106 social care workers.
Services at risk have been strengthened
For everyone, therefore, permanent employment will ensure the provision of services that would otherwise be at risk in many facilities; and at the negotiating table, the trade unions secured an agreement that permanent contracts will also be extended to all other professional roles that meet the requirements by the end of the year. The trade unions also rejected – and thus averted – the region’s request to cut the 2,000 posts advertised in the single regional recruitment competitions for 1,000 nurses and 1,000 social and healthcare workers, in order to compensate for the permanent appointments decided upon today. The region has also decided to extend the fixed-term contracts of nurses and social and healthcare assistants due to expire on 31 December 2026 until the competition rankings have been approved, in order to avoid any disruption to essential levels of care and prevent staff shortages in wards.
Community homes facing staff shortages
The outcomes of the round-table discussion therefore set out a sort of plan to bolster activities in hospitals and health districts, whilst the situation in community care homes – which are still understaffed – remains a cause for concern. For this reason, a monitoring system has been put in place, involving a survey to be completed by the end of December on the actual opening of community care homes, with the aim of ensuring that all operational facilities have general practitioners and specialists on site. Specific round-table meetings have also been scheduled: by 30 November for integrated home care and by 10 December for the 118 emergency service and in-house companies.Finally, regarding private healthcare, the trade unions have called on the regional authorities to continue carrying out all necessary checks and inspections to ensure that the National Collective Labour Agreement for staff is adhered to in accredited facilities.
