Bank sector collective agreement: renewal proving difficult. ABI is convening its executive committee on 21 October
At the meeting on wellbeing and welfare, 120 points were discussed, with many of the trade unions’ demands rejected. The five unions are still awaiting clear answers. Sileoni (Fabi): “If these do not materialise, there will be a strong response.”
The renewal of the national collective agreement for bank employees has not yet taken the direction hoped for, particularly by the trade unions, who see a very uphill struggle ahead. In his summary of yesterday’s meeting, Fabi’s general secretary, Lando Maria Sileoni, stated that extraordinary measures are slowing down the negotiations. ‘The banks are trying to play for time and are unable to provide answers on individual issues. There is a lack of political vision regarding the future of the sector,’ says the trade unionist.
The agenda was to cover organisational wellbeing and welfare, on which the trade unions had put forward very specific demands in their platform, which served as the starting point for the negotiations. A total of 120 points were discussed, and many demands were rejected, particularly those seeking to go beyond the existing legislation. According to trade union sources, however, the clarifications needed to kick-start the discussion did not materialise, and the talks never managed to delve too deeply into the reasons behind the responses. There may be new developments between now and the next meeting, scheduled for 26 October. On 21 October, a meeting of the ABI Executive Board was convened to set out a mandate for the Committee on Trade Union and Labour Affairs, led by Ilaria Maria Dalla Riva. This is the first time that all members have been invited, and this signals a desire to value the diversity of views and the participation of all. Once the terms of reference have been defined, the negotiations are likely to take a different turn.
The renewal of the contract, which expired on 31 March, affects 260,000 bank employees. With regard to the welfare provisions in the banking sector – which the trade unions themselves recognise as being among the most advanced – the demand is to standardise the terms and conditions. The issue is very broad and not easy to pin down, particularly as there are services, such as crèches, which cannot be imposed as structural provisions or across the board. On pay transparency, the ABI’s CASL has explained that it will refer to European legislation and that there is no scope for change, whilst regarding the annual sector report, provided for under Article 14, which informs the trade unions of strategic prospects, there is openness to the request for more quantitative data. On sustainability reporting, the request to make it mandatory did not meet with the banks’ approval; they speak of possible strengthening but not of making it compulsory. On part-time work, there is a trade union request to strengthen provisions, on which the banks have shown willingness to improve the law, but only for specific cases to be identified. On disciplinary measures and their timelines, too, the Italian Banking Association (ABI) and the trade unions have discussed at length the need to shorten the timeframes; however, these depend not only on the companies but also on the complexity of the investigations.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Sileoni explained that it is necessary to ‘know what sort of contract the banks intend to sign, what model of banking they have in mind for the coming years, and what role they wish to assign to their staff. We cannot continue to discuss individual issues without knowing the direction the other side intends to take. If we do not receive clear answers, we will be forced to take firm action’.
The agenda proposed by Abi envisages that each meeting (two further meetings have already been scheduled, on 26 and 29 October) will focus on a specific topic. For Sileoni, however, this approach does not work. ‘The national collective agreement,’ says the trade unionist, ‘is not a collection of chapters to be examined one by one, without an overarching plan. It is the instrument through which the rights, safeguards and working conditions of an entire sector are defined. And we demand clarity on this.’ Criticism has come from virtually all the unions. Riccardo Colombani of First Cisl calls on ABI for ‘a change of pace’, whilst Fulvio Furlan of Uilca describes ‘the banks’ approach to such important and central issues as short-sighted’, Susy Esposito of Fisac is waiting to see ‘the direction ABI intends to take the negotiations’, whilst Luca Pinton of Unisin Confsal speaks of ‘negotiations lacking a vision for the sector’.
