Italy: agri-food employers’ associations divided on the renewal of the national collective agreement

In July 2020, following tense negotiations between Federalimentare-Confindustria (employers) and the sector's trade unions to renew the agri-food industry national collective agreement, three out of the total thirteen employers’ category associations dissented and have recently been backed by a further two making a total of five choosing to sign an agreement with the unions, effectively running counter to the advice of Federalimentare that had sought instead for a return to the negotiating table. These developments call into question Federalimentare's ability to coordinate and is also emblematic of the emergence of fresh tensions in major national collective agreement negotiations as a result of both the currently challenging context and the positions taken by Confindustria’s new president.