Prison governors are calling for a pay rise and a bespoke contract

The National Coordination Committee of Prison Managers has called for an immediate meeting with the Minister for the Public Administration, Paolo Zangrillo: on the agenda are the first regional collective agreement and the ISTAT recalculation covering the five-year period. In the wake of the decree to unblock pay rises for judges – provided for under various rulings by the Council of State, which paved the way for pay rises for magistrates – the prison management union (CNDP-FSI USAE) has announced legal action to secure pay rises in line with the Council of State’s rulings.

At the same time, the trade union has called for an immediate meeting with the Minister for Public Administration to negotiate the first collective agreement. This is a necessary step – the trade union explains – and one laid down by law in Legislative Decrees 63/2006 and 95/2017, ‘essential for the full implementation of the rights of the profession and for establishing a framework of regulatory and economic safeguards commensurate with the high level of complexity of the duties performed’.

Pending the commencement of the negotiation process, the CNDP FSI and USAE ‘have brought a specific action for judicial protection to safeguard the remuneration of staff employed under public law’. The appeal before the administrative court aims to secure the correct recalculation of the ISTAT pay adjustment. ‘Unlike initiatives that are limited to the last year alone, the action aims to recover – as stated in the press release – the full amount due for the entire five-year period not subject to the limitation period’.

A two-pronged approach, launched with determination, in the knowledge that these are the responses that are due. “Every day, we ensure the management of complex and sensitive facilities with dedication and a sense of public duty,” states the union’s deputy coordinator, Enrico Farina. “We are not asking for privileges, but for the proper recognition of our professional dignity and the application of the safeguards provided for by law.” Farina hopes that all this – – will be achieved in the near future. Prison managers are making their voices heard to secure recognition for the role they play during this dramatic period for Italian prisons. 

The latest figures compiled by the Department of Prison Administration (DAP), updated as at 30 September 2026, confirm the trend of constant and high pressure on the national prison system. The number of prisoners has reached 66,063 . This represents an increase of 2,564 (+4 per cent) between the start of the year and the end of September. The of national overcrowding, calculated on the basis of the number of places actually available, stands at 143 per cent. This represents a steady increase since December 2020, when the prison population stood at 52,273 and overcrowding was 109 per cent.