Port workers in Italy set for strike action over retroactive pay freeze
Port authority employees in Italy are taking strike action next week in a dispute over a government pay freeze that is being backdated, the ITF news release said.
The workers, represented by the Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Trasporti FILT-CGIL, Federazione Italiana Trasporti-CISL and Unione Italiana dei Lavoratori dei Trasporti (UILTRASPORTI), have called for a strike of port authority employees on 5 December 2012. They are demanding that the government reverse its decision to freeze workers’ pay as part of austerity measures. The move not only contravenes the wage hike stipulated in the collective bargaining agreement but also forces workers to pay back the increases they received since January 2012.
The unions, all of whom are affiliated to the European Transport Workers’ Federation, the ITF’s European arm, and the ITF, have condemned the decision; the port authority clerical workers, who enjoy civil service status in Italy, could also be joined by other workers, such as stevedores, following a call to action from UILTRASPORTI.
The collective bargaining agreement covers all of Italy’s port sector workers; the port authority association is one of several employers involved in the negotiations; the government’s decision puts the pay of workers across the whole sector at risk, paving the way for other groups of employers to undermine the agreement.
Livia Spera , ETF political secretary for dockers and fisheries, said: “The ETF and its affiliated unions are monitoring the situation closely and stand ready to support Italian members. What is happening in Italy is part of a general trend that is reversing decisions taken by social partners involved in collective bargaining negotiations, threatening their role and autonomy.”