13 May, 2024Three Italian unions affilitated to IndustriALL, namely Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Chimica Tessile Energia Manifatture (FILCTEM-CGIL), Federazione Lavoratori Aziende Elettriche Italiana (FLAEI-CISL) and Unione Italiana Lavoratori Tessile Energia e Chimica (UILTEC-UIL), ended their strike at Enel after months of negotiations with management who had intentions to redefine the industrial relations model. The unions and Enel management reached an agreement in late April.
In March workers from Enel went on strike opposing the changes of working hours arrangements, outsourcing of operations on the electricity grid and the refusal to renew an agreement on remote work which will affect Enel’s 30,000 employees. A huge support for the strikes and a negotiation, which was attended by over 300 delegates from every area of Enel, led to the agreement.
After strong worker mobilization, operations will not be outsourced, and operational centers will be strengthened. An application for half-shift will be suspended and a joint commission will be set up to share the best solutions which will be tested no earlier than October this year, 2,000 new hires will be made where at least 1,600 will be additional hires (1100 by June 2025 and 500 by June 2026).
Regarding corporate welfare, the financing agreement will be stipulated with the aim of increasing and improving service to members.
Going forward regarding smartworking the trade unions have included in the text of the agreement a declaration confirming that they want to start negotiations with Enel to define a new agreement which takes into account the company's and workers’ needs.
In a statement the unions said that they believe they have achieved great results and have laid solid foundations to resume mutual paths between workers and the company and will revoke all strike actions and give reports to workers on the agreement in the coming weeks.
IndustriALL director for energy, Diana Junquera Curiel, says:
“We congratulate our Italian affiliates on this result. With strike action over and an agreement in place, workers can now focus on moving forward and enjoying the fruits of their struggle. In February this year IndustriALL, jointly with PSI, wrote a letter to Enel condemning their actions and called on them to act responsibly. Their actions were in violation of the Global Framework Agreement (GFA) and the European Works Council Agreement by making decisions regarding the working conditions of Enel workers without their participation in decision making. We are pleased that they have behaved accordingly and found an agreement.”
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