Fiat in own deal

Italian vehicle maker Fiat is negotiating its own deal with the unions, covering its 86,000 employees in Italy, after leaving the employers’ association Confindustria (see Workplace Report October 2011, page 8).

However, not all the unions are involved in the discussions. The largest, FIOM, which is part of the CGIL union confederation, has refused to take part because it has been excluded from some of Fiat’s local plants following deals the company has already signed.

The expectation is that the agreement currently being negotiated will be similar to those already reached locally, where the company forced through major changes in working practices, threatening that it would otherwise not invest.