Telecommunications companies reopen negotiations to renew their employment contract.

Telecommunications is reopening "transformation negotiations" to renew the national collective bargaining agreement, which expired at the end of 2022, more than two and a half years ago and affected approximately 200,000 workers. Asstel, the Confindustria association representing industry operators, and the unions (Slc Cgil, Fistel Cisl, Uilcom Uil) met in plenary session to restart the dialogue that had been interrupted at the end of last year. The meeting followed a period of tension, culminating in a workers' strike at the end of March and a strike initially called and then withdrawn in July. However, some changes have also taken place, such as the one at the top of Asstel, where TIM CEO Pietro Labriola has been appointed.

The parties parted in a constructive spirit, defining a very busy agenda for September, with several meetings already scheduled: meetings of the "Job Transformation" Technical Working Group will take place on September 10th and 22nd, and a new plenary session will take place on September 29th.

The meeting focused on a contract that will govern a phase of significant transformation, including the structural entry into the artificial intelligence sector, which will bring organizational changes and new professional roles. In recent years, critical issues on this front have been addressed while ensuring a certain level of employment stability. Asstel highlighted the content and objectives of the Manifesto for Italy's Digital Growth, which "represents the strategic framework for addressing the sector's challenges," explains a statement from the association. "The Manifesto reiterates the need for a fair and competitive regulatory framework, capable of ensuring equality between traditional operators and new digital players." It also highlighted the urgent need for industrial policies to support infrastructure investments, through a review of frequency allocation with a view to reducing costs and recognizing the sector as an energy-intensive sector. Then there is the issue of call centers, which are heavily impacted by digitalization, and the need to promote modern flexibility tools and lifelong learning.

While the economic aspect remains to be resolved, the regulatory reform process has already made significant progress. However, several areas remain to be defined in order to fully implement the sector's transformation. Among these is certainly the revision of the personnel classification system, which will need to define professional areas capable of ensuring greater organizational flexibility and a higher level of employability. How? Through significant investment in lifelong learning and emerging digital skills, as well as through the development of agile working practices to enhance the ability to work by objectives and the updating of guidelines on the use of IT systems. For Asstel, this new phase of dialogue "marks the beginning of a strategic path for the future of the sector."