Draft agreement reached for Wind telecom workers
At the end of 2008, After six months of bargaining, the social partners at Wind – Italy’s third largest company in the fixed and mobile telephony sector – reached consensus on the renewal of the company agreement. The company has about 7,500 employees and is owned by Weather Investments.
The agreement introduces some interesting elements regarding women’s work–life balance needs and the stabilisation of temporary workers. The Wind workforce consists of a high proportion of women (48%), the majority of whom are employed at the company’s call centres. In recognition of the strong female presence, the agreement grants working mothers facilitated shifts between the hours of 08.00 and 18.00 up until their child’s second birthday. The same right to ‘parental shifts’ is extended to separated, divorced or widowed parents with children in particular situations up until their ninth birthday. In general, the use of time off is adjusted to childcare needs. For example, from March 2009 onwards, working mothers or fathers will have the right to eight additional hours of time off to help their child settle in at a crèche – a provision which will be granted up until the child’s third birthday. Moreover, the time off granted to workers for medical check-ups can also be used for children requiring medical attention up to eight years of age.
The new draft agreement stipulates that, by January 2011, in accordance with the stabilisation scheme introduced first at regional and then at national level, the company will undertake to hire 90 call centre workers on open-ended employment contracts. In this respect, it will give priority to those on fixed-term contracts and former temporary agency workers fulfilling certain requirements: for example, they must be working for the company since at least December 2007 and must have had their contract renewed on at least two occasions. The criteria adopted for the stabilisation scheme will also take into consideration other social hardships of the workers concerned.
All of the agreement’s signatory parties have expressed their satisfaction with the draft agreement.