Yesterday, the negotiating delegation of Filctem- Cgil, Femca-Cisl, Uiltec-Uil and the representatives of Unionchimica Confapi signed a proposal for the renewal of the national contract for workers in small and medium enterprises in the merged sectors of chemicals, tanning, plastics and rubber, abrasives, ceramics and glass associated with Confapi. The contract, which expired last December 31st, covers the 2026-2028 triennium and involves about 56,000 employees in 3,800 companies.
From an economic standpoint, the agreement foresees an average economic increase broken down as follows: €208 for the Plastics and Rubber sectors; €237 for the Chemical and Tanning sectors; and €201 for the Ceramics, Glass, and Abrasives sectors. The five tranches of salary increase will be disbursed for all industries at the following times: 1 January 2026; 1 April 2027; 1 December 2027; 1 June 2028; 1 December 2028.
Concerning contractual welfare, starting from 1 January 2026, there is a defined increase of 0.10% at the expense of companies on the Fondapi quota, the complementary sector’s supplementary pension fund. From a regulatory point of view, the system of industrial relations has been reinforced and expanded, both at a national and territorial and corporate level. Further improvements have been made in the areas of the labour market, rights and protections, especially in illness; reasonable accommodations; work hours, including the introduction of “overall time”; recognition of meals consumption or the eventual replacement allowance; part-time facilitation upon request; additional union permits and an extra hour of assembly for health and safety issues, supplementary pensions, and contract renewal.
In terms of health, safety, and environment, there is a provision for insurance and legal protection for the Supervisor position, specific meetings for assessing the microclimate at workplaces, and protections for workers in companies with fewer than 15 employees. Finally, after decades, a revision of the classification system has been carried out, as well as of the contractual declarations, with the introduction of new professional profiles, versatility, multifunctionality, and the recognition of levels: replacing the system of mere prevalence in favour of professionalism.
It is now up to the workers in the various sectors affected by the renewal to approve the agreement in the assemblies.
