Amazon has entered its “first-ever” national collective agreements applicable across an entire country’s operations, covering all 57 Italian sites.
Amazon Italia Transport and Amazon Italia Logistica signed the deals with Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl and Uiltrasporti, covering video surveillance, worker permits, and various rights and benefits.
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According to a translated version of the unions’ announcement, this represents the first occasion on which Amazon has agreed national collective terms that apply company-wide within a given country, and the unions have characterised it as a shift from an earlier protocol towards formalised agreements.
In a joint statement, the three unions said: “The agreements on video surveillance, permits, rights, and benefits represent the first time in the world that Amazon has signed national collective agreements, applicable to all 57 sites across the country, marking the evolution from protocol to agreements.”
Regarding video surveillance, the agreements establish specific conditions governing how new technologies can be deployed, which the unions describe as a step forward from current arrangements.
Notably, the terms rule out any use of camera footage for disciplinary action against staff.
On leave provisions, the companies have gone beyond what is legally required under statutory parental leave and child sickness leave rules, offering employees terms that are more favourable.
The agreements make the solidarity leave mechanism operational, introduce the right to take parental leave in single-hour increments, and apply parts of the general section of the National Collective Bargaining Agreement for Logistics, Freight Transport and Shipping relating to serious illness.
This includes provisions that certain absences will not be counted against sick leave allowances, alongside 18 months of pay at the full rate.
The agreements also leave room for further negotiations between the two sides at a local level, with the aim of reinforcing second-level bargaining on matters specific to individual sites.
“Thanks to the signing of the agreements and the start of discussions on the issues scheduled for September and October, both on additional regulatory and economic aspects. we have achieved an extraordinary result that represents a first natural evolution of the historic protocol on industrial relations, signed in 2021, strengthening the system of protections, rights, and participation for all Amazon workers in Italy”, the unions added.
In February, Italian authorities carried out an inquiry into Amazon.
Three of its senior team members were suspected of evading taxes in the country amounting to €1.2bn ($1.26bn).
