Work

Service sector contract: green light for a single platform with a €220 pay rise for 3 million workers

The sectoral trade unions Filcams, Fisascat and Uiltucs have approved a joint document for the renewal of collective agreements with Confcommercio, Confesercenti, Federdistribuzione and the co-operative associations Ancc-Coop, Confcooperative Consumo e Utenza and Agci

by Cristina Casadei

29 September 2026

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3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

A shared journey
Fast turnaround times
The increase of 220 euros
Working hours and work on public holidays
Welfare

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

A unified platform setting out demands for the service sector has been adopted by the sector’s trade unions – Filcams, Fisascat and Uiltucs – following a meeting of 1,500 delegates at the Auditorium della Conciliazione in Rome.

The platform, which guarantees the same demands for all workers , is calling for a pay rise of 220 euros for a workforce of over 3 million, the largest in the private sector in Italia.

Their contracts are all due to expire on 31 March 2027 and concern the sector’s employers’ organisations – Confcommercio, Confesercenti and Federdistribuzione – as well as the cooperative associations Ancc-Coop, Confcooperative Consumo e Utenza and Agci.

A shared journey

With the approval of the platform, as the three organisations explain in a statement, ‘a broad and wide-ranging consultative process has come to an end and a new phase is beginning: that of discussions with employers’ organisations.’

‘The mandate from the workplace assemblies and the more than 1,500 delegates gathered in Rome is clear: the renewal of collective agreements must boost wages, safeguard purchasing power and provide concrete solutions to job insecurity, low-paid work and the growing fragmentation affecting the sector.’

Fast turnaround times

The aim of the trade unions is to initiate discussions as soon as possible and to create the conditions for reaching agreement on the renewals by March 2027.

The trade unions explain that they wish to ‘begin negotiations in good time with the aim of renewing the contracts before the deadline and avoiding the delays experienced in previous rounds of negotiations. The national collective agreement must continue to serve as the main safeguard for protecting workers and combating inequality for millions of workers, and as the means by which innovation is translated into quality employment and decent work’.

The €220 increase

The platform focuses on wages, the value of work, tackling job insecurity and strengthening safeguards.

The main issue is pay, on which the trade unions have called for an increase of 220 euros per month once fully implemented, to restore and boost purchasing power.

With the extension of working life and the trend towards staying in employment longer, there have also been calls for an increase in the number of seniority increments and an adjustment to the amounts paid, in recognition of the experience and professional expertise gained

Working hours and working on public holidays

The platform also provides for an increase in the premium for work on Sundays, public holidays and at night, a cap on the number of Sundays worked, and adherence to the principle of voluntary participation, with greater protection for those with care responsibilities.

To tackle the issue of involuntary part-time work, the trade unions are calling for an increase in the minimum working hours, stricter rules on flexible working arrangements, the right to reconsider, priority for full-time roles, and the formalisation of regularly worked overtime. On the subject of flexibility, there are calls for the permanent appointment of fixed-term and agency workers, whilst a review of classification systems and professional grading structures is proposed, in light of organisational changes and technological innovation.

Welfare

Among the priorities of the trade unions is also the strengthening contractual welfare, supplementary healthcare and supplementary pensions, the strengthening of industrial relations and the rights to information and participation, new safeguards in the field of health and safety, and measures to improve the work-life balance.

The platform also aims to combat discrimination and harassment in the workplace and to extend protection for parents and for those working in the contracting and franchising sectors.