27 March, 2025On 28 March, metalworkers across Italy will stage an eight-hour national strike demanding the resumption of negotiations for the renewal of the National Collective Labour Agreement (CCNL). Talks with employer associations Federmeccanica and Assistal stalled in November 2024, prompting unions to escalate their actions.
Workers will march nationwide, sending a clear message that they will not accept stagnation or concessions that erode their living standards. Their demands include action against wage stagnation, job insecurity and insufficient workplace protections.
FIOM, FIM and UILM, affiliates of IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll European Union, are leading the strike in response to employers’ refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue. Their failure to offer a fair contract threatens workers’ wages and rights, leading to widespread dissatisfaction.
Negotiations for the CCNL began on 30 May 2024. By 12 November, after eight rounds of discussions, Federmeccanica and Assistal proposed a framework linking wage increases solely to inflation trends. Unions argue this approach risks wage stagnation and undermines previous agreements from 2021.
In response, FIOM, FIM and UILM organized 16 hours of strikes between December 2024 and February 2025, including halting overtime and flexible work arrangements. However, employers have remained firm, leading to the escalation with the 28 March strike.
Federmeccanica and Assistal have cited economic challenges, offering a wage increase tied to the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (IPCA), totaling €173.37 (US$187.09) over four years (2025-2028), alongside flexible benefits and enhanced insurance coverage. However, unions argue these measures fall short of ensuring fair wages and job security.
IndustriAll European Trade Union and IndustriALL Global Union fully support FIOM, FIM and UILM in their fight.
“We stand firmly behind the workers' demands for clear and tangible increases in contractual minimum wages, ensuring they exceed inflation to safeguard purchasing power. Furthermore, we support their efforts to extend workers' rights, combat job insecurity, reduce working hours and strengthen protections for health and safety—both in workplaces and within contractual agreements,”
said IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie.
“We stand by our Italian colleagues and their fight against the erosion of living standards. We support their call for the renewal of the national collective labour agreement and send all our solidarity for the eight hour strike on 28 March,”
said Judith Kirton-Darling industriAll Europe general secretary.