One hundred and twenty hours straight, from midnight on Monday 10th August to midnight on Friday 14th. This is the duration of the national strike proclaimed by FAO Cobas in the road freight transport sector, one of the longest among those recorded this year by the official statement of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, which classifies it as a strike of national importance in the “Goods transport” sector. The ones who will fold their arms will be the traveling staff of the companies that apply the national collective agreement for logistics, freight transport and shipping, therefore the drivers and not the warehouse workers. Permanent workers and employees of companies that do not adhere to that contract remain outside the mobilization. Specifically, according to the sheet published by the ministry, the contractual categories ranging from A3 to H1 are involved, i.e. the band including most of the drivers of heavy vehicles employed in ordinary and special deliveries.
What FAO Cobas is asking for
Behind the mobilization there is an essentially trade union demand even before a wage one, namely the recognition of Cobas as a party in the negotiation for the renewal of the sector’s collective agreement, a table from which the basic acronym complains of being kept out. On a more concrete level, the key request concerns working hours. For staff with intermittent duties, the weekly limit can now reach up to 47 hours, thanks to exemptions provided for in the current contract; Cobas asks for a return to the ordinary threshold of 39 hours, eliminating those exceptions. It is a battle that the union has been carrying on for some time and which with this prolonged strike takes on a different weight, precisely because of the moment in which it falls.
Because precisely the week of August
It is difficult to think that the coincidence with the August bank holiday is coincidental. These days the logistics sector is already traveling with a reduced workforce, because a large part of the staff is on holiday, while the streets are filled with those leaving for holidays. Two factors which, added together, amplify the effect of the protest, because even a limited support risks having a greater impact than in any other period of the year, simply because the system is already under stress.
Who risks the greatest inconvenience
The most serious repercussions should fall on businesses. Road freight transport supports a large part of the supply chain of Italian production districts, and companies that remain operational during the week of August could find themselves dealing with late or no supplies at all. It cannot be ruled out, however, that some slowdowns may also affect private individuals: home deliveries, in particular those of e-commerce and express couriers, could take longer than expected.
In the same week the national strike is intertwined with another, more limited dispute: on 13 and 14 August the non-travelling staff of the CLO Magazzini di Maltignano and Re.Ma. cooperatives, in Ascoli Piceno, will fold their arms on the initiative of OSP USB Lavoro Privato. A local protest, which concerns warehouse workers and does not directly overlap with the Cobas mobilization, but which in the same period of days contributes to making the week particularly delicate for the sector.
