Bankers, towards a contract with reforms to govern artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence "cannot become an alibi for making redundancies in banks", but "it is an issue to be governed", through bargaining. The secretary general of Fabi, Lando Maria Sileoni, at the 130th National Council of the union of the autonomous bankers puts his hands on the issue that dominates the negotiations on the Cabina di regia on digital in credit and, in fact, has already entered the pre-negotiation for the renewal of the ABI labour contract that will expire at the end of the month. Finding the door open more within the groups than at national level. Certainly, 'a reform contract is needed. The current one must be simplified, without ever losing sight of the enforceability of the rules and representativeness,' says Francesco Micheli, a long-time banking manager who has led several Abi Casl.

The union's main concern is, as Sileoni reiterates, 'economic growth and avoiding the balkanisation of the sector', which would be at the expense of the smaller realities. For BdM Banca CEO Cristiano Carrus, if it is true that 'it is the bank that decides how to use the new technologies', the important thing then 'is not to go in random order and work on the basic concepts'. The president of Abi's Casl, Ilaria Dalla Riva explains that 'there are two tools to provide the answers. One is the national contract, that thing we call the 'framework' and it is the place where we have to find common answers to common issues. And then the specifics are declined at a second level'. The example of what could happen comes from agile work. 'On the first level we declined the common rules, we did not allow the Wild West to be created. This did not prevent us from declining to the second level the requirements of industrial plans'.

The ongoing negotiations at Abi within the Cabina di regia on digital have entered the labour debate. In this regard, Roberto Cascella chief people & culture officer Intesa Sanpaolo, says that they are "working to identify a synthesis in a sector composed of very different banks. This heterogeneity is an asset, but makes the path towards a common position more articulated. As a group, we will continue to make our contribution to foster a constructive debate and also to arrive at the renewal of the new contract. Intesa Sanpaolo is playing its role as a forerunner of change'. For the bankers' contract, the advent of artificial intelligence will mark the moment of a very impactful cutback. Roberto Speziotto, head of human resources at Banco Bpm, recalls that 'back in 1999, when We Bank, our digital bank, was born, the contract was not old, more so. The time has come for a versa reform and to recover a relationship of trust in industrial relations in order to find common solutions that take into account the different corporate identities'. In future negotiations, Andrea Merenda, chief people officer of Bper, is convinced, 'we will definitely get to the bottom of things, thanks to the virtuous industrial relations in the sector. When we talk about artificial intelligence, however, I would say that in addition to talking about risks, we should also talk about opportunities. At Bper we are creating them with our Academy and with training, with a specific course also on Ai'. On training Fiorella Ferri, head of the chief human capital office of Banca Mps, says that 'sometimes the past contains traces of the future. I think, for example, that the social partners were far-sighted in providing, back in 1999, vocational courses that are still so important today to give young people a prospect of growth and thus still make working in a bank attractive'. On the other hand, as Geraldine Conti, chief people & engagement Bnl Bnp Paribas argues 'banks are becoming ecosystems of skills, technologies and partnerships. The real challenge is not just to innovate, but to govern change: investing in employability, listening and culture to continue to create value for the real economy'. Matteo Bianchi chief governance officer of Crédit Agricole Italia recounts the group's efforts 'in internal academies and collaborations with universities, to ensure that new skills spread to all levels, leaving no-one behind. Ai is an accelerator at the service of colleagues and customers, not a substitute'.