Acea, the energy and water supply company based in Rome, has created a stir in the sphere of industrial relations in Italy, after it signed a company agreement with three trade unions - Filctem-Cgil, Flaei-Cisl and Uiltec-Uil – which though completely legal will not apply labour market reforms contained in the Jobs Act. The energy and water supply firm, which is listed on the Italian stock exchange but is 51%-controlled by city authorities in Rome, will not adhere to the provisions of the jobs act on certain key issues, such as dismissals. Hailed by the CGIL, CISL and UIL union centres, the agreement - which must be approved by workers at the group to come into force – has provoked the ire of employer federation Confidustria, of which Acea is a member. Observers have highlighted the fact that the agreement, signed late on 7 February, comes less than a month before Italy elects its next Parliament, on 4 March. It also comes as the Five Star Movement, the political party that holds the Rome mayorship, pledges in its electoral campaign to abolish the Jobs Act.
Article 18 of workers’ statute reinstated. Under article 18, employees that were found to have been unfairly dismissed would have to be reinstated, but this changed upon the arrival of the Jobs Act. The latter introduced open-ended employment contracts with ‘rising’ levels of protection, under which staff hired after March 2015 could be laid off without compensation.
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