After a union meeting the trade unions CGIL, CISL and UIL initiated the shutdown of the Colosseum and Rome's other most important archaeological sites, including the Palatine Hill, Ostia Antica and the Baths of Diocletian, causing long queues and sparking an outcry. Following the action the government agreed in a meeting to add financing for an employment plan for the culture ministry to the 2016 budget law, featuring hiring of an estimated 1,300 workers in cultural heritage positions. The agreement is verbal, but is seen by the unions as a positive sign that goes along with another government commitment to pay cultural heritage workers monthly, beginning in February 2016, for additional compensation accrued. Less positive is the government’s intention to add monuments to the list of essential public services. This means it will become one of the sectors – along with healthcare and transport services – in which unions must adequately notify their activity in advance and based on precise rules, to avoid too many disruptions for citizens. According to the unions the action had taken place according to the rules and been communicated in advance.
English: http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/english/159884/CGIL-says-1-300-culture-hires …
http://www.italy24.ilsole24ore.com/art/arts-and-leisure/2015-09-18 …
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.
