The 36,200 BCC banks challenge Federcasse over an increase of 435 euros, arrears and flexible hours

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The 36,200 workers of the cooperative credit are challenging Federcasse on the renewal of their national collective labor agreement on which they are asking for a 435 euro increase, arrears, the hourly reduction to 35 hours per week, more training for employability, slightly more career paths automatic. And flexibility to reconcile life and work, even with the greater diffusion of agile working which has not established itself in the sector. With this renewal, the objective of the 29,100 workers of the BCC banks and the 7,100 of the system companies and the parent company, represented by the self-employed workers of Fabi (which is the union with the absolute majority) and by First, Fisac, Uilca and Ugl Credit, seems to be to make the mutual banks a more modern, participatory and inclusive world of work, as the times we are living in require. And increasingly better paid, thanks to economic recognition and the revision of the incentive system.

The negotiations are underway

Yesterday, in Rome, in the first negotiating meeting a tight agenda was defined: the next meeting will already be on 22 April, while two other dates have been set for May: 7 and 30. For the unions it is necessary to reach a renewal in quick times. The national secretary of Fabi, Luca Bertinotti, who represented the platform of demands on behalf of all the acronyms, explains however that «it is completely clear that the expectations and the negotiating responses of the meeting on 22 April will make it clear what intensity and what step will begin the real start of this delicate, complex, but very necessary contractual renewal of the cooperative sector”.

The reasons of the banks …

The president of the Federcasse trade union delegation, Matteo Spanò, who will involve the associates in the coming weeks, although speaking of “a fruitful meeting full of points of interest”, does not go too far: “It is still too early to make a prediction on the duration of the negotiation: there It is important to consider a suitable timing, but the interest is above all to conclude a renewal agreement that is balanced and that best represents the needs of the Cooperative Credit as a whole”. It is certainly a good omen that the sector is coming “from a particularly productive union season”. The economic part, welfare, training and organizational specificities are among the central topics for banks.

… and those of the unions

The unions, for their part, wave two strong points: one is the model for the renewal of the Abi contract at the end of 2023 (closed with an increase of 435 euros and hourly reduction to 37.5 hours per week), the other is the platform demands that they brought to assemblies around Italy and which received the green light almost unanimously. In addition to the economic part where they ask for an average increase of 435 euros plus arrears (the contract expired on 31 December 2022), the unions believe that an adjustment is also necessary on the incentive system. The improvement of complementary pensions, as well as healthcare and long-term care, must also enter into the discussion. Although the mutual banks have their specificity in being banks characterized by relationships and proximity, they are no less deeply involved in the twin transitions, i.e. digital and green transition. This is also why issues such as participation, the control room on innovation, the review of the framework and purposes of the resources of the Employment Fund are already present on the negotiating table. But also new ways of working, with more flexibility and greater use of agile working. Still not widespread in cooperative credit.