Telecom Italia: agreement with trade unions for the management of 2,600 surplus employees without redundancies and using instruments like the new solidarity revised by the job act

Telecom Italia and the Category Trade Unions, Fistel-Cisl, Uilcom and UGL today signed the agreements for the management of 2,600 surplus workers through solidarity contracts.

Today’s agreements which pick up the guidelines already signed at the Ministry of Economic Development also regulate workers leaving on voluntary early retirement agreements, in accordance with Article 4 of the “Fornero Law” and flanks the agreement reached a few days ago on voluntary mobility.

Slc Cgil, although present at the negotiations, did not sign the documents relating to the aforesaid agreements.

Thus continue the discussions between the parties to analyse and identify the best possible alternatives aimed at handling surplus staff, as revealed by the company’s analyses due to the rationalisation processes affecting all companies operating in the telecoms world.

In particular, the agreements envisage the use of two types of interventions that flank the legal mobility agreement signed previously:

Solidarity (defensive) : “defensive” solidarity is introduced, as reformed by the Job Act, as the main tool by which to manage surplus staff.

A Solidarity Contract will be stipulated for around 30,400 Telecom Italia workers, envisaging the vertical reduction of working hours, for a total of 23 days per year (8.85% of the monthly working hours). Solidarity will start this coming 4 January 2016 and last for 24 months, with the commitment, by agreement of the parties, of extending it for a further 12 months. The application of solidarity will not relate to staff carrying out some company duties with specific needs for operative continuity.

Voluntary early redundancy (pursuant to Art. 4 of the Fornero Law) : on the basis of current legislation, the parties have defined that, on a voluntary basis, Telecom Italia workers accruing by 31 December 2018 the minimum pension requirements over the following four years, will be able to stop work early. The company will pay monthly through INPS the amount of the pension accrued at the time of leaving and the relative social security contributions for the following four years.

In order to mitigate the economic disadvantage of its employees who will see their income reduced due to the solidarity days, only partly offset by the INPS contribution, in the agreement Telecom Italia has decided to provide for the granting of company loans at low interest rates (official ECB refinancing rate, currently at 0.05%).

At the end of the period of validity of the Solidarity Contract, where the objectives of the plan to absorb the excess personnel have been met, Telecom Italia will pay the employees involved in the Solidarity Contract a one-off bonus of an amount which will vary according to the classification of their employment contract.

Rome, 27 October 2015