It is time to present the bill!
On
The items on the agenda were:
1) General prospects for UPS for the next
few years;
2) Drafting of demands based on the needs
of the workers, for a company collective bargaining agreement.
On the first point on the agenda, we
expressed our disapproval of the company’s unwillingness to guarantee its
activities and jobs for the forthcoming period.
This disapproval was expressed by the
* We also expressed our disapproval of
certain restructuring measures, such as at
Vimodrone: due to certain limits in our
National Collective Bargaining Agreement on the question of transfers we were
able to win very little. Furthermore the company refused even to sign minutes
of the meeting! The company does as it pleases in terms of holidays, breaks,
national holidays (feast days), bonuses...
The programme of demands listed here is
intended as a draft to be further developed, discussed and changed, if
necessary, by the workers.
The national leadership of the Unions are
of the opinion that this draft is “an interesting starting point”.
There is still a point that has to be
defined: the level of wage increases. This is due to the fact that the 1992-93
national labour agreements subordinated wage increases to the financial
situation of the company, presented by the company itself. Because we have no
control over these figures we contest the ‘92-’93 agreements.
We have proposed to put forward demands for
wage increases based on the levels in other companies of the same sector: an
average increase of 1,500,000-2,000,000 lira ($920-1,230) gross per year, with
an increase in the basic wage and a reduction in variables.
DRAFT PROGRAMME
FOR UPS NEGOTIATIONS
INTRODUCTION:
Our aims in developing this draft programme
are to:
1) develop and consolidate a more advanced
set of rules, accepted by both sides, which should be respected in any
organisational changes in the works process of the company;
2) define and experiment more advanced
forms for governing such processes through bilateral agreements between the two
sides;
3) define the channels through which
conditions, work set-up, and individual performance are to be evaluated;
4) define, according to the 1992-93
national labour agreements, wage levels favourable to the workers, on the basis
of increased productivity targets.
1) WORKERS’ SKILLS, with particular
attention to training. The development of new and more advanced operating and
computer technology, new works procedures, and an ever more flexible organisation
of the work itself means that the development new skills and re-training are
the key to increasing the level of competition of UPS towards other companies.
Faced with this situation we demand the right to retraining as a means of
improving the quality of labour and of providing the workers with new skills so
that the company no longer has to call in outside personnel. Thus the basic
guidelines, the aims and training schemes should be developed through common
agreement.
2) SICK PAY. Accepting what is stated in
article 28.8, the company will give prior written warning to the employee
should the period of sick leave covered at 100% of normal wage levels expire
(as stated in the National Collective Bargaining Agreement) and come to an
agreement with the employee on the means and the number of instalments by which
the deductions shall be carried out. Furthermore we demand that a solidarity
fund be set up, made up of 1% of the employee’s wage level, 0.25 of which paid
by the employee and 0.75 paid by the employer. This fund will go to integrate:
A) the period of sick leave paid at 50%,
topping it up to 100% of normal pay;
B) if the period of sick leave should be
longer, the above mentioned integration would become 2.5 months wage
compensation prior to the 6 month sick leave without pay as stated in article
28.9.
Should this fund be partly or fully unused,
the remaining capital, accumulated annually, will be allocated to associations
to be decided in common agreement between the company and the shop stewards’
committee. This agreement will remain valid until a new agreement is reached on
this question in the national integration fund.
3) OVERTIME. Part-time will become
full-time in those departments where the overall number of part-time hours
(overtime hours + supplementary hours + extra hours due to the transformation
of part-time into full-time) worked reaches an annual figure at the level of
full-time. Where this should prove to be impossible then the company should
proceed to take on further part-time workers, giving precedence to employees on
temporary contracts.
4) AUDIT. Those employees with at least two
years’ service will no longer be liable to productivity checks, except in those
cases where there is a fully documented substantial change in the works
procedure.
5) EVALUATION FILES. We restate that the
use of these evaluation files is exclusively for internal purposes, and that
the employee in question and the shop stewards’ committee must have the right
to consult them to check whether there has been any discrimination.
6) CANTEEN. The right to use the canteen
should be extended to those employees who presently are unable to benefit
(shift workers). As an alternative these employees should be given a restaurant
ticket to the value of 7.000 lira ($4.30).
7) STUDENT WORK EXPERIENCE. Those students
on work experience will be taken on on temporary contracts as apprentices.
TRANSFERS
Transfers within the same branch must be
agreed with the shop stewards’ committee; and furthermore the company will take
into consideration transfer applications from personnel from other departments.
Employees must receive information of any
transfer in writing, where the duration of the transfer, if temporary, is to be
stated together with the type of work involved. Transferred workers have the
right to demand no change in their work timetable.
TRADE UNION RIGHTS
In order to avoid unpleasant
misunderstandings, at the beginning of each year a written agreement will be
signed stating how many hours of paid leave the shop stewards’ committee has
the right to.
The shop stewards’ committee must have at
its disposal a room for trade union activities. Furthermore notice boards must
be set up in the canteen and near the check-in machine in the HUB department.
RESOLUTIONS voted by the workers of the Milan branch
of UPS
1)
The workers at the assembly of 7th and
in this phase of the company level
negotiations, as stated in article 45 of the National Collective Bargaining
Agreement, delegates the shop stewards’ committees to develop, together with
the workers in the individual branches, a list of demands for the company level
negotiations, based on the following points:
1) greater control on the part of the
workers of works procedure and organisation;
2) greater protection of employees and
cooperative employees through the application of article 52 of the current
National Collective Bargaining Agreement and the development of a National
Collective Bargaining Agreement specifically for the sector;
3) wage increases that effectively share
out a quota of profit increases and recover purchasing power lost over the
years.
Therefore the workers invite the national
and local Trade Union confederations to do everything in their power, in a
period of growth for our sector, by developing together with the shop stewards’
committees (the only, and real, direct protagonists in the negotiations) a
company level contract that defends the rights of the workers.
2)
The workers at the assembly of 7th and
although aware of the increased turnover of
the last few years, and of the large investments that are being made, express
their worry for the future development of the company.
The unwillingness of the company to form a
joint commission with the workers and their representatives to study together
the present process of technological transformation, as well as the refusal on
the part of the company to sign minutes of the meetings aimed at guaranteeing
development and job security,
lead the workers to have further reason to
worry about security.
Therefore, we invite the company to reopen
negotiations and thus reassure the workers about the future.
DRIVERS’ DRAFT PROGRAMME
After several meetings between Trade union reps and the drivers the following draft programme of demands was developed:
1) Vehicle waiting time:
vehicle waiting time (half a day) was paid 50,000 lira ($31); now however in order to guarantee an adequate compensation for expenses three different levels are proposed:
a) vans: 100,000 lira ($62)
b) small trucks: 120.000 lira ($74)
c) large trucks, over 35 quintals (3.5 tons).
2) Disciplinary measures:
all disciplinary measures to be agreed with the Drivers’ Committee, and is no longer to be at the exclusive discretion of the supervisors.
3) Fees increase:
Each year the Committee, together with the company, will agree on any necessary increase, to be based on ISTAT (National Statistics Institute) inflation figures.
4) State monopoly postal service tax:
Should this tax be reintroduced by the state it will be fully paid by the company
5) Vehicle wash:
cost will be fully covered by the company
6) Uniform:
Will be complete (clothing and shoes) and fully adapted to the season of the year (summer and winter) and the company will cover the full cost.
7) Compensation for the handling of money:
Compensation of 200,000 lira ($123,5) per month.
The individual drivers will be asked to adhere to, and promote, this programme of demands by signing it and adding any further demands they feel necessary. This is your programme of demands, and by adhering to it you will put your representatives in a position to know who they can count on.
UPS drivers’ committee