the CISL asks you to try it – Corriere.it

Short week also in Italy. This is proposed by the CISL which speaks of the need to start trials on the English model. Roberto Benaglia, secretary general of the metalworkers of the Fim Cisl says: «The news relating to the positive experimentation of the short week in the United Kingdom in 61 companies, with interesting results for both companies and workers, must also open a comparison between the parties in Italy social in the same direction. It is time to regulate work especially in the manufacturing sector in a more sustainable, free and productive way».

The case of the United Kingdom

Indeed, in the United Kingdom, 61 companies from various sectors took part in a national trial between June and December 2022. The project envisaged a reduction to 32 hours per week for each employee, to be spread over 4 working days, without any salary cuts. The results in terms of productivity and well-being for staff have been such that 56 of the 61 companies have decided to continue working on 4 days instead of the traditional 5 a week. According to data from Boston College, which analyzed the trial, about 39% of employees said they felt less stressed and had fewer sick days than in the past. In addition, the number of employees who left the company fell by 57% compared to the same period of the previous year.

The idea of ​​the Fim Cisl is to negotiate at company level a form of work made up of 4 parts of full activity and 1/5 of reduced hours which either can also be dedicated to training or care work, things that already happen in other countries. Benaglia says: «It is not a question of reducing working hours in a generic way as in the last century but of making work more sustainable and flexible towards people’s needs means making workplaces more attractive, in an era where many workers, especially young people talented, they are changing workplaces and skills are moving in the labor market». «The technological and organizational leaps that digitization and work for objectives are taking place in many metalworking companies must spur us to throw our hearts beyond the obstacle. It is possible to rethink corporate hours and reduce them not against corporate competitiveness, but by seeking new balances and better results », she concludes.