Pharmacists' contract, Federfarma offers 180 euro increase

Pharmacy owners are once again attempting to start negotiations for the renewal of the national collective bargaining agreement for employees, and this time the dialogue with the trade unions seems to be in a different gear, thanks in part to the new offer of a €180 gross monthly increase, when fully implemented, over the three-year period of the contract.

Federfarma and the trade unions (Filcams, Fisascat and Uiltucs) met to find shared solutions and overcome the tense phase in the sector, where the contract expired a year ago, on 31 August 2024, and there have been states of agitation and a strike. The most difficult issue to unravel concerns the economic part where the gap is very wide. If the unions are claiming an overall increase of EUR 360, the companies had initially sat down at the table with a proposal of EUR 120 on the minimums to which all the welfare is added, which, as the president of Federfarma, Marco Cossolo, pointed out, takes the amount of the increase and the cost of labour much higher. In the meeting Federfarma confirmed "the willingness to identify shared solutions that can be considered satisfactory by the trade unions and at the same time sustainable for all pharmacies". At today's meeting, Federfarma went so far as to propose an increase of 180 euros over the three-year contractual period. This is a proposal that increases the value of previous proposals by 50 per cent, but is still a long way from what the trade unions had asked for. The gap remains very wide, but the parties are getting closer.

For their part, the trade unions will go ahead with the mobilisation in support of the dispute, but they shared the agenda, which foresees two more meetings (9 and 29 October) to advance the negotiations. For the unions, however, it is vital to put at the centre of the discussion a salary increase that restores what was lost over the previous three years, in terms of purchasing power, and that gives the political sense of recognition of the professional commitment of those who work in pharmacies. As explained in a note by Federico Antonelli and Benedetta Mariani of Filcams CGIL, 'this negotiation wants to reaffirm that the lever of the contract is the instrument on which the profession will be able to regain the appreciation it has always had and that in recent years, due to the value of salaries in relation to the professional commitment required, it has progressively lost'. For Uiltucs, Federfarma's proposal is insufficient and it is necessary to enter into the merits of the entire negotiation in order to assess its real scope. 'Ours is a clear request,' explains national secretary Marianna Flauto, 'based on numbers, data, and the reality of the facts: 360 euro. We remain at the table, but we do so with our eyes fixed on the goal and the respect due to all the workers in the sector'.

Overall, there are approximately 100,000 pharmacy workers, including owners, in Italy. Of these, 76 thousand are affected by the renewal, of which 58 thousand are pharmacists. Over the past few days, Fofi, the Federation of Italian Pharmacist Orders, also took the field in support of the dispute, urging the resumption of dialogue. Cossolo spoke about the meeting with the president of Fofi, Andrea Mandelli, explaining that he shared "the importance of enhancing the role of collaborating pharmacists, who are undeniably a precious professional resource for the development of a pharmacy capable of responding effectively to the different health needs of the population".

Both one federation and the other have tried to promote in recent years "the evolution of pharmacy within the reorganisation of territorial health care, which has enriched the profession of pharmacist with new skills and new functions", says Cossolo. The professionalism of employees, who are called upon to expand the range of activities carried out within the service pharmacy, certainly deserves recognition. According to Federfarma, this recognition can be achieved not only through a salary increase, which is adequate and sustainable, but also through other types of benefits, which can positively affect both the economic aspect and the quality of life". And it is precisely on these assumptions that the employer side would like to build the confrontation to arrive at the renewal of the contract, which also experienced in today's meeting some moments of tension for two reasons. The first was Federfarma's request to regulate the right to strike, the second was the economic impact assessment of the trade unions' wage request. On the issue of the regulation of the right to strike, 'we have stated that there are already determinations of the guarantee commission that are the basis on which to manage the current conflict phase,' Antonelli and Mariani said. 'That precisely on the basis of these determinations and the open mobilisation, it is not our intention to initiate a confrontation on this issue. On the assessment of the economic impact of the requested increases, the unions explained that the previous years of non-renewal and the difference in the inflationary figure recorded over the past three years have resulted in an even heavier problem for workers". Therefore, it is good to focus on the service pharmacy, centring the role of the pharmacy on proximity healthcare, but the economic recognition is essential to recover the purchasing power lost and, among other things, say the unions, "the existing difference in the national contract between urban and rural pharmacies already safeguards those companies that may have lower turnover and marginality data".