Contracts, bread-making renewal is underway: more money and more protection for 80 thousand employees

A new contract for bakery workers, 80,000 in Italy, which, in addition to providing payroll increases, takes into account greater safeguards in the field of workplace safety and welfare. The collective agreement was signed today, in the Fippa and Fiesa-Confesercenti offices, by Fai Cisl, Flai Cgil, Uila Uil, the Italian Federation of bakers, confectioners and the like, and Fiesa-Assopanificatori Confesercenti, the renewal agreement of the National Collective Labor Agreement bread making 2019-2022, expired on 31 December 2018, which affects about 80 thousand male and female workers. The Fai-Cisl, Flai-Cgil and Uila-Uil unions and the employers’ side are satisfied. “An agreement that, albeit conditioned by the pandemic and more recently by the surge in raw material costs, – the unions commented – sees an economic increase in wages of + 4.65% equal to 69.50 euros at full capacity for level A2 in artisan production companies and + 5.81% equal to 97 euros for level B3 in industrial production companies, which will be disbursed starting with the paycheck in May “. To fully cover the contractual holiday period, a lump sum ‘one-off’ amount of 200 euros will be paid for companies with an artisan address and 400 euros for those with an industrial address. Many innovations have been introduced from the regulatory point of view of the national collective bargaining agreement, highlighted by the trade unions, including: the relaunch of second-level bargaining, territorial and district agreements; greater attention to safety; updates with respect to current legislation on the labor market; the identification of a new sphere of application that from 31 December 2022 will more precisely distinguish artisan companies from industrial ones, as well as sharing a modernization of the classification system for artisan companies more adherent to the new activities from these carried out. On the welfare side, the possibility has been provided for the working mother and single-foster father to request the extension of the period of exemption from night work for six continuous months, starting from the third year of the child; the right to obtain an advance of the severance pay in the amount of 30% in periods of optional leave from work for maternity / paternity leave; the introduction of forms of flexibility in the time of entry and exit for parents with children up to three years of age and for those who are involved in entering the nursery school.