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Collective bargaining reform approved: unions strengthened, Giunio prevails over majority

The new law, for which approval UOD was instrumental and reluctantly accepted by its liberal partners, institutionalizes a system of structured bargaining between employers and workers. Unions play a central role: the massive mobilization has been rewarded

Government and Trade Unions at the negotiation table

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February 5660

ROMULA - After months of negotiations, both between the political forces and with the trade unions, in a vote that marked another moment of intense tensions within the majority, the National Congress approved the collective bargaining reform. The law represents a turning point in relations between workers and businesses, significantly strengthening the influence of trade unions and creating a structured, binding, and centralized system for negotiations on key labor issues.

The reform introduces stable and regulated mechanisms for bargaining between employers' organizations and worker representatives, setting new standards for the drafting of national collective bargaining agreements, the definition of reference wage scales, hiring regulations, and an automatic mechanism for adjusting wages to the cost of living and inflation. This framework aims to ensure greater legal certainty, fair pay, and worker protection, but critics argue it risks tightening the labor market and increasing costs for businesses.

At the forefront of the reform push is the Hosian Democratic Union, which has long been expressing growing dissatisfaction with what many of its members have called a "hyper-liberal drift" within the center-right coalition. According to Hosian Democrats leaders, the balance between social ethics and economic pragmatism was eroding, to the exclusive advantage of business interests. With this law, the UOD sought to reaffirm its roots in a social vision of the economy, consistent with its Hosian-popular tradition. Party sources explained that it was no longer possible to continue sacrificing fundamental values for superficial cohesion, and that the growing union mobilization of the past two years, culminating in the two general strikes that paralyzed the country last year, could not go unanswered.

At the center of everything, once again, was Minister Secretary of State Valeriano Giunio, forced to navigate a delicate balancing act between the growing demands of the UOD and the unions on the one hand, and the resistance of two minor allies, Democracy & Freedom and the Liberal Republican Party, on the other. For weeks, Giunio attempted negotiations, offering amendments and reassurances. But according to leaks from parliamentary sources, he was prepared to go much further: on at least two occasions, he threatened to resign and trigger a government crisis if the law were defeated or further watered down. 

In the end, D&L and PRL gave in, supporting the reform with evident reluctance and undisguised unease, although UOD agreed to several concenssions to the allies, among which the most relevant they agreed to drop their demands for income tax reform and especially for increasing the solidarity tax. Giunio and PNL, on their part, promised to expand the privatizations program also in some of the strategic sectors and in granting more decision power to D&L and PRL in the future appointments of managers of state-owned companies, also because Giunio has been working for over a year also in convincing the allies in support the new Program for the Defense.

In any case, Giunio, at least for now, has achieved a significant political success. He responded firmly to the social protests, contained the UOD's centrifugal forces, and minimized the possibility of a fracture in the coalition. It remains to be seen how long this precarious balance can hold.

The trade unions, for their part, welcomes the reform, calling it a historic victory after years of marginalization. And while some observers already see the agreement as a high price for the coalition's stability, others see it as a sign that, under Giunio's leadership, it is still possible to reconcile seemingly irreconcilable interests, at least until the pressure exceeds the leader's ability to contain it.

The opposition's reactions to the collective bargaining reform have been varied and, in some cases, strongly ideological. The New Communists have hailed the success of the large-scale mobilization that saw workers, students, and university students take to the streets, emphasizing that "workers, if united, can overcome even the strongest and most blind resistance". At the same time, however, they have not spared criticism of the government and even part of the unions, accusing them of "sitting down to negotiate an agreement built on the unfair capitalist system and serving to continue to preserve the privileges of employers and the capital".

The Democratic Socialist Party has a different position, justifying its abstention by stating its belief that more and better can be done. For the Social Democrats, the approved reform represents only a first step and does not structurally address the fragilities of the labor market, which now requires a modern and comprehensive Workers' Statute.

The Greens, who in part voted in favor, were the least critical: they called the text an important step forward, while reiterating that the country needs a change of direction and a government truly receptive to the strong demands coming from below. These demands, according to the Green Party, are not limited to jobs but also involve rights, the environment, and social relations, signs of a ferment that is sweeping across Istalian society.