Italy: banking sector social partners secure agreement on workplace vaccinations

Following the recent industrial sector agreement (c.f. article No.12411), Italy’s banking sector is also making itself available for an employee vaccination program. The agreement dated 17 March (here) between the employers’ organization ABI (Associazione Bancaria Italiana) and the trade unions Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca and Unisin will allow banking sector workers to be vaccinated directly at their place of work, when the vaccines become available. The social partners “undertake to quickly integrate the 28 April 2020 protocol” (protocol on health and safety at work during Covid, c.f. article No. 11905), as of when the authorities will have defined a workplace vaccination framework, including personal data protection and a definition of the various responsibilities, and as stated in the agreement. “The vaccination plan (…) gives significant recognition to workers in the banking sector who, during the last 12 months and like all employees in essential services (…) have never stopped working,” said FABI Secretary General Lando Maria Sileoni. The Italian vaccination plan adopted on 13 March provides for the possibility of using occupational physicians ‘in production and large-scale distribution/retail sites, etc.’ to accelerate the inoculation campaign, subject to specific agreements.