New rights for call-centre staff

Italian unions and the employers' association Assocallcenter have signed an agreement which, for the first time, regulates the terms and working conditions of around 10,000 staff in outsourced call centres. These are staff who are not on normal employment contracts but are called in to work as required.

In essence the agreement, signed earlier this month, means that these workers get many of the normal rights of employees, without actually having employed status. For example, they gain rights to sickness payments, paid through a mutual fund set up by the employers; and in cases of absence as a result of an accident at work or maternity, where the workers are paid through statutory bodies, the contract is extended to cover the period of absence.

The workers are guaranteed at least 60 hours of work a month, at a minimum rate after training of €6.73 an hour; this will be increased to €7.65 in September this year and €8.55 in September 2005. As further protection, contracts with the workers involved must last for a minimum of six months and must set out in detail the rights to which the individual has access.

The unions involved have expressed their satisfaction that it has proved possible to reach an agreement that protects this group of workers, who are very widely used in the Italian call-centre industry.