Post Office, renewed contract. 230 euro increase and experimentation with the short week

For the 120,000 workers of Poste Italiane an important pay increase is on the way and a new organisational model that envisages the experimentation of the short week and forms of hourly reduction for the same salary. This is what is foreseen in the renewal of the national collective labour agreement between the company and the trade unions: according to the hypothesis of the agreement, the agreed increase will be 230 euro for the period 2024-2027. The contract had expired at the end of 2023 and the renewal came just a few months before its expiry, with very close negotiations. "The signing of the agreement," commented CEO Matteo Del Fante, "is the result of a path in which everyone has been able to do their part with a great sense of responsibility to achieve a common goal, which is to improve the pay levels of our 120,000 employees, sustaining their purchasing power, and contribute to the company's growth path to consolidate its leadership in the Italian corporate landscape. This contractual agreement is therefore the best premise to take up the challenge posed by the new Industrial Plan 'The Platform Company'.

Of the total increase of 230 euros to the average reference level, 192 euros will be on the minimum wage. In addition to this increase, a further EUR 38 will be added, of which EUR 30 per month will be on the value of meal vouchers, EUR 5 will be an increase in the value of the health fund from January 2025 and EUR 4.5 on the welfare fund from September 2026, thanks to the increase in the company contribution rate from the current 2.3% to 2.5%. A one-off payment of EUR 1,000 is also planned. On the economic side, it can be estimated that the recovery of workers' purchasing power will go beyond what was foreseen by the Ipca, which for the four-year period considered (2024-2027) would have led to an increase of 140 euros. The president of Poste, Silvia Rovere, expresses 'appreciation for the workers' representatives who have approached this negotiation with a great sense of responsibility. The agreement reached allows us to look with great optimism at the further growth of the company and at the future of Poste Italiane's employees who, thanks to the new features of the contract, obtain economic and welfare guarantees, in the wake of the great attention that the company pays to the welfare of its employees".

The mediation between the company and trade unions brought about substantial changes on various issues, including participation and information rights, gender issues, parental protection, part-time regulations, working hours, training and the right to study. In particular, the articles of the new contract introduced the possibility of experimenting with short-week organisational models, i.e. 9 hours for 4 days, also with forms of reduced working hours, for the same salary. In addition, the chapters on travel, sickness and working time were also revised. "This agreement constitutes the cornerstone of a broader strategy with which Poste Italiane has put the enhancement of people at the centre of the development of its activities," explains Poste Italiane's general manager Giuseppe Lasco. "We are a great element of attraction for the labour market, a vanguard of modernity in industrial relations, and this agreement allows us to strengthen the system of protections, the rights of female and male workers, and the enhancement of participation institutions."

The trade unions are satisfied. CISL number one, Luigi Sbarra, considers the signing 'excellent news. It is a modern and innovative agreement that provides for significant salary increases and the full recovery of inflation, reinforces participation, information and training of workers, as well as extending new rights and protections on gender equality, parenthood, the fight against harassment, and the right to study". "The signing comes after a close confrontation that lasted five months as a result of the significant initial distance between the parties on wage increases," emphasises Raffaele Roscigno, secretary general of Slp Cisl. 'This result,' continues Roscigno, 'is a significant step forward in terms of rights and protections for all employees. Nicola Di Ceglie, national secretary of Slc CGIL, adds that 'the experimentation of the short week, with a possible hourly reduction for the same salary, is a new frontier that goes towards improving the quality of life of workers'. Claudio Solfaroli Camillocci of Uilposte considers 'fully achieved the objective of improving the normative part with concrete social advances' and notes the importance of the implementation 'of the possibility of experimenting the so-called 'super short week' and forms of working time reduction with equal pay'.

Failp Cisal secretary general Walter De Candiziis speaks of 'an important milestone', while Paolo Capone, Ugl secretary general, and Salvatore Muscarella, Fnc Ugl Communications national secretary, note 'the step forward for workers' protection'. Now the word goes to the workers, who from September will meet in assemblies to vote on the hypothesis of the agreement.