To resume negotiations for the renewal of the national collective agreement, Federlegnoarredo (Fla) is awaiting a response to the request to restart the table which dates back to February 22, when the unions (Fillea, Filca and Feneal) decided to interrupt negotiation.
The unions: reopening of the table or mobilization
In the past few hours, however, the unions have relaunched a statement in which they explain that they expect “a gesture of responsibility from FederLegno and its associated companies, even in the face of the high profits recorded and those expected in 2023”. As? “Reopening the discussion table with more balanced and fair positions that recognize the reasons for the platform advanced by FenealUil, Filca Cisl and Fillea Cgil”, write the three trade organizations. In the meantime they say they want to continue the mobilization after the strike of the last few weeks, with the aim of defending “the collective agreement, the right wage, the recognition of rights and training, confirming the blocking of all extraordinary services and of the institution of flexibility”. If there is no news by 31 May, the unions intend to launch new mobilization initiatives.
The availability of businesses
However, Federlegno observes “with a certain amazement that while the trade union organizations are diligent and ready in calling strikes and communicating them to the press, they are much less so in responding to our request – which dates back to 22 February last – to sit down again at the table to resume the negotiation from where the unions themselves had interrupted it”. The companies remind sector operators that «it was the trade union organizations – unilaterally – who stood up from the table on 22 February, simultaneously announcing a strike in April which, it is evident, they had already foreseen regardless of the outcome of the meeting . “And since that day we’ve still been waiting for a date to resume discussions,” says Gianfranco Bellin, President of the Industrial Relations Commission of FederlegnoArredo, who reiterates the willingness already expressed to continue the negotiations and awaits the unions’ willingness to meet. . Bellin thus renews “publicly the invitation to provide us with a date in which to plan the continuation of the negotiations during which – unlike what the unions have claimed – we have never even reached the point of talking about figures, precisely because of the abrupt unilateral interruption”.
The distance between the parts
The contract in the sector which according to the unions concerns 200,000 workers expired on 31 December. Given the increase in energy and the inflation of 2022 which had a strong impact on workers and families, Federlegnoarredo has accelerated the negotiations, despite the difficulties experienced by companies due to the energy shock and the increase in the costs of raw material. Thus, already on November 23, the Federation presented itself to the table with a proposal. In a nutshell, he told the unions that the inflation recovery system – which in the sector covers the almost complete Ipca, but ex post – should be considered as having expired with the old contract. Hence the proposal to freeze all the regulatory part for a period to be defined with the counterparty and then the shared definition of a system to provide economic coverage for 2022, immediately, avoiding the long renewal times for workers classic. A coverage between the complete Ipca which is 8.7% and the Ipca without energy costs which is 4.5%, also based on the duration of the “freeze”. The spirit of the companies’ proposal was to give an immediate response on the economic front, in a sector that is not characterized by flash negotiations, so much so that in the last renewal the negotiations went on for 18 months. The unions’ response, formally, came after 3 months of waiting, with an attached raise. That is to say, the economic coverage relating to 2022 is good right away, but the confirmation of the old system of full inflation recovery ex post must be put in black and white, once the negotiations for the renewal are resumed. Given the answer, for Federlegnoarredo the only way forward has become to continue the negotiation with the classic method and with the time necessary to find an overall balance. Leaving the economic part at the bottom. All this especially in light of the fact that yes, it is true that the sector increased its turnover by double digits in 2022, but it had a much higher cost increase that companies were unable to unload on the price lists. The answer, on 22 February, came in a joint note from the national secretariats of FenealUil, Filca Cisl, Fillea Cgil who explained that they “interrupted the negotiations due to the enormous gaps between us and the counterpart in terms of wages and the unavailability of the latter to reconfirm the contractual model consolidated since 2016, which allows for a more effective recovery of purchasing power for workers”. Hence the decision to call a strike.