Italy: ‘Historic’ agreement at Amazon establishing a labour relations system

On 15 September, and under the aegis of Italy’s Labour Minister, Amazon Logistica Srl together with the Filt-Cgil, Fit-Cisl and Uiltrasporti unions have signed what the labour bodies have termed a unique agreement at a world level. The protocol provides for the multinational distribution company to recognize and respect the logistics and parcel shipments sector collective agreement (c.f. article No. 12544). Initiatives will be taken to develop labour relations at the national level, including periodic consultation on e-commerce issues and preventative consultation on development and investment strategies, and on the establishment of new sites. The agreement will enable the initiation of collective negotiations on the organization of work (hours, shifts, workloads), the correct application of job description frameworks, health and safety issues, lifelong training, and economic issues (performance bonuses, etc.). The social partners have also committed to providing dispute resolution procedures. The trade unions are hailing this “historic agreement”, stating that “for the first time, Amazon accepts confrontation according to the standards of the collective agreement in force, recognizes collective representation, and the role of the unions”. The protocol represents the culmination of six months of negotiations, opened by the Minister of Labour after a 24-hour strike by all Amazon workers in March 2021. The company is opening three new sites in Italy in 2021, and as a result expects to grow from 9,500 employees on permanent employment contracts at the end of 2020 to 12,500 by the end of 2021.