Leonardo (formerly Finmeccanica), Italy's largest manufacturing company, in defining its new supplementary contract (2024-2026) with the trade unions, has laid out the tracks on which dialogue will be developed on premium, time and welfare, which are increasingly employer branding factors. A reduction in working hours in areas where smart working is not usable is also being discussed with the unions. An agreement is being worked out that provides for productivity gains against which the company would be willing to reduce hours. The idea is to start with experimentation in some of the larger plants. The issue is at the center of many disputes in Italy this year. Among the first to put forward the proposal for reduced working hours in national contract renewals are the wood-furniture unions, which are calling for a cut of about 12 days a year. But there are several unions pressing the time issue: bankers are asking for 10 hours a month, nearly 16 days a year, combined with a 435-euro raise over the three-year period, while grocery workers are aiming for 24 fewer work days a year and a 300-euro raise, but spread over a four-year period.
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