Bank workers: negotiations begin on a €518 pay rise

The trade unions are calling for a swift resolution, but negotiations will resume after the next ABI executive committee meeting, which is due to take place in September.

The discussion between the parties on this point became heated. Riccardo Colombani, General Secretary of First Cisl, adds that ‘if Italian banks find themselves in an excellent position in terms of profitability, stability and efficiency, the credit for this goes above all to the workers, who, during the years of crisis, enabled the system to overcome serious difficulties. The trade unions have fulfilled their role with responsibility and a constructive spirit, as President Patuelli acknowledged in his report to the ABI Annual General Meeting. It is precisely this sense of responsibility towards the people we represent that has prompted us to draw up a unified platform whose priority is the redistribution of the wealth generated’.

The series of meetings has given the trade unions a strong mandate. Workers are calling for recognition of their vital role in the results achieved in recent years, which relate not only to the profitability of capital but also to all indicators of efficiency and stability. Against this backdrop, according to trade union calculations, labour costs in 2025 have fallen compared with the previous year.

The General Secretary of Fisac Cgil, Susy Esposito, states that ‘the new contract must address not only economic and regulatory aspects, but also the profound transformations brought about by technological innovation and artificial intelligence, managing the transition without passing on the costs to the workforce: we cannot continue to stand by and watch the number of branches and employment levels decline, whilst the sector is recording record profits, growth in productivity and profitability”.

Luca Pinton (Unisin/Confsal) calculates that ‘the cost of the platform, estimated at between 2.46 per cent and 3.21 per cent of profits over the last four years, makes calls for a pay rise not only a sustainable measure, but also essential to counteract inflationary erosion and consolidate the sector’s stability, through the redistribution of part of the profits generated by the banking system to those who produced them, namely the workers’.

The Italian banks, after all, are no longer what they were 15 years ago. They are more solid, better capitalised, more efficient and ‘have reached levels of profitability never seen before. For this reason, the negotiations will have to take account of the new reality facing the banks,” emphasises Sileoni, who highlights the union’s sense of responsibility during difficult times and the need for responses that are consistent with the current evolution of the banking system.