MILAN - Italian union delegates on Wednesday approved a proposal presented by their leaders to seek a wage rise of 8.4% for next year at Stellantis, Ferrari, Iveco and CNH Industrial, setting the scene for formal talks with the industrial groups.
Leaders of FIM-CISL, UILM, Fismic, UGLM and AQCF unions last week presented a proposal to negotiate new four-year contracts for most workers at the four groups, including salary rises to offset rising inflation. The current contracts expire at the end of this year.
FIM-CISL, UILM, Fismic, UGLM and AQCF unions said on Wednesday in a joint statement that, following the approval by the 537 delegates, with 98.8% of the votes in favour, they had filed a formal request to the four companies.
They hoped talks with carmakers Stellantis and Ferrari, truckmaker Iveco and agricultural and construction machine maker CNH Industrial could happen as early as this month, they added.
Consumer prices rose 8.9% year on year in Italy in September and workers are seeking higher wages in response.
Negotiations cover almost 70,000 workers in Italy, two thirds of them at the former Fiat-Chrysler, which last year merged with France's PSA to create Stellantis, whose brands also include Peugeot and Jeep.
Labour representatives are also demanding wage increases of 4.5% for 2024 and 2.5% for 2025, while they have said reliable inflation estimates were not yet available for 2026.
Leftist union FIOM is not part of these talks and has presented its own separate requests.
