We publish, as required by art. 34 of the national contract of journalistic work, a union press release of the National Federation of the Italian press (Fnsi, the main union of journalists) relating to the negotiation for the renewal of the main national journalistic employment contract. To follow, the press release of the Italian Federation of newspapers (Fieg, who It represents the publishing companies of daily newspapers, periodicals, printing agencies and digital newspapers) on the same topic.
In the last 9 years the salaries of the Italians have been eroded by 19.3% of inflation certified by Istat. In these same years several national employment contracts have been renewed: not that of journalists, stopped to 2016. The publishers, however, in the meantime have collected at least 240 million euros in aid from the state and have lightened the editorial offices (less than 15% of regularly hired journalists), increasing the precarious and underpaid work: an article is paid on average 10 euros gross. A mechanism that guaranteed the vast majority of publishers to grind profits. For 15 months, the National Federation of the Italian Press has been confronted with the Italian Federation Publishers newspapers to renew the national contract of journalistic work, asking for dignified increases for the recovery of purchasing power, investments in young people, guidelines to govern digital transformation, starting with artificial intelligence, ideas and projects to modernize Italian publishing with the aim of raising the quality of journalism and contrasting disinformation and fake news.
The Constitution establishes the right of each worker to a right remuneration which, for journalists, is also a guarantee of freedom and for readers a certainty of quality: only adequate wages can ensure careful and deep professional work and, therefore, a certain information and defense of citizens. All this does not seem to be of interest to the publishers, more focused on cutting costs and on the next round of waltz to ask for more money from the government rather than on the numerous challenges imposed by the digital revolution to seek, together with journalists, the way to overcome a devastating crisis. They did not want to confront the use of AI, on the relationship with the giant of the web that increasingly condition information (approaching it), on employment prospects, referring to who knows when any discussion. With an evident problem: to postpone again in the case of publishing means succumbing, bringing the sector to certain death.
But even when you tried to treat a bridge agreement only for the economic renewal, the scheme has repeated itself. The recovery of inflation is the demarcation line of the whole world of our country.
The offer of the Fieg, on the other hand, is far lower than the contractual renewals of the other workers in our country whose real income under the impulse of trade union organizations have strengthened. Not only that: while for some time a progressive unstructuring of the national work contract has been underway, the publishers at the table have asked for the new hires for a new downward entrance salary. A further discount on hiring mandatory by law following early early gods (which for publishers, since 2022, are completely free) and therefore unacceptable.
As journalists we will continue to make our duty to inform citizens with conscience and commitment, but we are also ready to mobilize to defend our rights of workers.
National Federation of the Italian press
The press release of the Italian Federation Publishers newspapers.
Fieg highlights how the journalistic employment contract, renewed for the last time in June 2014, remained anchored to the old organizational models and present a high degree of rigidity, both for regulatory aspects and for economic aspects.
We have therefore repeatedly proposed to the union to face together the challenge of an overall reinterpretation of the contract that provided, among other things, a specific protocol to encourage the hires of young people, as already successfully experienced in the contracts of polygraphraphic and managers.
Instead, we have recorded the unavailability to pursue the path of a true renewal by the union that intends to limit itself to an economic “bridge” agreement aimed at recovering inflation, without being able to affect the modification of old and now unsustainable institutions as the maintenance of the payment of the former holidays albeit repealed by a law of 1977.
Regarding this path, it is to be remembered that the onerous mechanism of the seniority shots in a percentage provided for by the CNLG (where almost all CCNL now establish increases in fixed figure) has substantially protected the purchasing power of journalists in the last decade and companies, although in the same reference period they have recorded a halving of revenues from diffusion and advertising, have confirmed the availability to an economic recognition of that granted to that grant that granted to an economic recognition. In the last renewal of 2014 even in the absence of contractual savings.
On the theme of artificial intelligence, the Fieg reiterates that the solution to the concerns expressed by the union cannot be sought in the introduction of contractual use constraints intended to “grow old” early, but rather an ethical approach by companies is needed with the possibility of equipping yourself with codes that they thunder both the journalistic profession and readers.
Therefore, the attitude of the union that has rejected all the availability put in place by the publishers and we reiterate our will to reach a shared solution of the contractual dispute has been surprising.
Italian Federation of newspapers
