Fiat may sign new union contracts today
Fiat hopes to finalize a new labor agreement with Italian unions today, but there are some potential stumbling blocks. While Bloomberg News cites Italian newspaper La Stampa as saying the new accord will be completed, Il Sole 24 Oro reports that Rocco Palombella, secretary-general of UILM, the Italian Union of Metallurgical Workers, is still holding out on the issues of overtime and absenteeism, sticking points that were thought to have been resolved in weekend meetings. Palombella says union leadership will meet today to discuss the contract.
Joking that Palombella has “the fastest trigger in the West,” Bruno Vitali, secretary-general of FIM, another union, said there is a need to get the contract finished or risk losing all the work that has been done. The new agreements must be completed and ratified by December 31st, the date on which Fiat has said it will terminate all of its current labor contracts.
