Contracts, over 2.5 million workers awaiting renewal

We review the main contracts expected in the autumn. The metalmechanics industry contract, which expired on 30 June 2024, is the subject of complex negotiations, characterised by a long stalemate phase also marked by worker mobilisation (more than 40 hours of strike). After the breakdown in November 2024, the parties have recently resumed negotiations with a new calendar of thematic meetings set for 11, 18 and 25 September. Besides wage increases, there are many regulatory issues on the table. Starting with the working hours: the unions are calling for a gradual reduction to 35 hours per week for the same wage, through trial phases in companies in transition or in crisis. With regard to smart working, a national framework regulation has been proposed, which however does not convince the counterparts, who prefer company solutions.

Significant differences also existed onprofessional grading and continuing training. With regard to professional grading, the discussion focused on the possibility of implementing the system introduced in 2021. On the one hand there are the trade unions, which urge operational tools and the involvement of the Rsu in companies that exceed the ceiling of 150 employees; on the other Federmeccanica, which proposed the extension of the tasks of the national commission, without binding companies to the application of the new model in individual company contexts.

A concrete example is the Unionmeccanica Confapi contract, which expired on 31 December 2024. On 24 July 2025, the parties reached an agreement that set an increase in theminimum wage for the three-year period 2025-26, postponing the discussion on the regulatory contents until September. This is a way for metalworking SMEs to balance the wage needs of workers with the economic sustainability of companies, in a context such as the current one of great instability in the economy.

Thetelecommunications contract, which expires in 2022, is a symbolic case of deadlock in negotiations. The confrontation started with the presentation of the unitary platform 2023-25, but negotiations were at a standstill for almost two years until last 31 July when there was a resumption. In 2024 the most critical phase, when Assocontact - the representative of outsourced call centre companies - left the table and signed a separate contract with Cisal Comunicazione in December. A split that accentuated the crisis of representation in the sector. In the trade unions' sights was the lack of answers regarding the claims concerning the establishment of a universal supplementary health care and the adjustment of the contribution to the Bilateral Sector Fund.

Finally, there are cases such as that of private healthcare facilities where the non-renewal has taken on a structural character: the contract expired in 2018 and there has been no progress since then. This is the typical case where the persistent negotiating difficulty is determined by a high fragmentation of the employer side and a low syndicalisation of the workers.