The ninth meeting to renew the healthcare contract area for the 2022-2024 period was recently held at ARAN – Italy’s public-sector bargaining agency. The ARAN president began the meeting by declaring that discussions would resume on January 13, 2025, possibly continuing on January 14, in light of the implementation of the budget law, currently still under review. During the meeting, the trade unions made known their reservations about the new articles in the draft contract.
The unions highlighted disagreements with some proposals put forward by ARAN. A key point of disagreement concerned ARAN’s proposal to allow private practice in addition to 36 weekly hours, without provisions for an exclusivity allowance as is the case for management. The exclusivity allowance is something professionals can choose to receive, increasing their salary or waive it to go into private practice. The trade unions are concerned that the adoption of this mechanism might lead to disparities across different health professions.
Another contentious issue concerned the new provision on breaks and the right to a canteen. ARAN’s proposal assures a meal in the canteen only for those who do more than eight continuous hours of work, which is a downgrade on the existing conditions. The proposal also suggests that if a break is not taken, it could be added to the 11-hour continuous rest period prescribed by the law. This would significantly reduce the number of current beneficiaries of the canteen or the substitute meal voucher without increasing the value of the meal voucher. Trade unions have expressed their rejection to this proposal.
The trade unions intend to continue protesting unrelentingly to secure additional resources to raise salaries and overcome all normative constraints on hiring and accessory salary. They believe that without the elimination of these constraints, the valuation of the employees of the National Public Health Service will not be feasible.
