Italy: social partners sign protocol on measures to battle coronavirus in the workplace

Pressed by the government to establish uniform guidelines to guarantee the safety of employees in the workplace, the Cgil, Cisl and Uil unions and the employer organisations Confindustria, Confapi and Confartigianato (large and small industrial and craft enterprises) reached a memorandum of understanding on Saturday. It took the social partners 18 hours of negotiations to develop these operational guidelines, which apply as of today to all companies. An agreement was much needed, with workers spontaneously walking out last week in different factories and strikes continuing, particularly in the engineering and metal industries. Several of the country’s major groups, starting with the automobile giant FCA, have announced the suspension of their production.