A debate on clerical? The union pays
The personnel director: "If the employees remain in the company make me a favor, if they go I make two ". Gerardo, and unionized employee FIM-CISL, has given his thoughts on employees and their relationship with the company and the union in this letter. ... "It 's true that until about twenty years ago between the clerical work and the workers the difference was enormous, as great as was the cultural difference between these two worlds.
The worker that she was working harder less mechanized than that of any colleague of the day, often less than self-controlled, because the level of education was less than today.
other hand the clerk was certainly a privilege, a simple graduation made him a technician, an administrator and belonging to a very small group made him feel like a piece important asset, much closer to the leaders, the bosses that worker.
The average employee for many years thought it was easier to defend their rights, and certainly many of his privileges, contracting directly with the supervisor without intermediaries, but more often in danger of getting more. The union was then engaged on a much broader front, the very top of workers of their problems was the key problems of trade union struggles, and problems of the employees have been relegated to the last row from the harsh law of numbers.
When I started to deal with union thought that the union split into categories accentuate these differences as a metalworker has more problems similar to those of a worker in the chemical industry than to those of an employee of his own field. In light of the changing world of work I think that a working-class white collar and a category called for a time as would have been wrong and would have further amplified the differences and mistrust.
These two worlds are much more mixed than before, we find clerical figures who spend their days in the wards in close contact with the workers and workers who perform tasks of data entry or control once reserved only for employees, increased significant holdings of employees has also significantly lowered the level of autonomy in this category and enjoyed them progressively closer to the workers moving them away from what we might call the control room, but despite this the employee, the more the worker is taken away by the union.
This mistrust is partly due to a residual culture mentioned earlier, the culture that considers the worker as one who produces and creates wealth and employment as the indirect and does not produce increases costs and therefore what can not make demands can not make proposals.
but I believe that it is mainly due to the fact that the union has failed to satisfy the needs of this changing world, and continued to care little about the problems of employees.
How many times have we used called for a complete revision of categories and professionals, how many times have we asked to discuss flexible working and how many times have we asked to investigate a valid way to measure our productivity and allow us to grow professionally and economically on the basis of the facts alleged and not for attachments to the company measured in overtime (often unpaid).
always the union was deaf and blind to these demands and I say that writing, I say that as militant in many years has tried to highlight this lack, I say and ask on behalf of the many other employees who have the card and that in their hearts they know they have given much more than they have received. I say now that as we are renewing the metalworkers' national collective agreement, convinced that things are beginning to change.
Things started to change for us because finally a point as important as the review of classification has become an important issue for any organization, but also because it is no longer seen only as a way to raise the professionalism of the workers but also as an attempt to create a true mix between the two categories now divided only by different contractual rules.
Among the demands of this contract the revision of the categories is an important point, strongly backed by the FIM and the Secretary Caprioli that in a recent interview with Il Sole 24 Ore said, referring to employees and the revision of the categories, "so we know them better, and represent them better, and also "Most of these workers have a direct relationship with the company, but this does not strengthen them, they are alone, abandoned to themselves, we could help them."
When I read this interview I thought it was time for someone to notice and we hope that these resolutions once again not be the first to be sacrificed on the altar of mediation. However
to change things must be present, work from the inside, this is one of the reasons why I continue to renew the card and invite employees to join, because we could only affect so many more. At the same time, however, let me say that I understand those who make a different choice, I understand perfectly well who he says "Why should I join?, What the union has done for me?" I understand them and what more I rode, and until Today I could not find a convincing answer, but now, by this contract, this FIM are convinced that things will change, I am convinced that we used we would have our share of satisfaction, just believe it, just fight, just join " .
Gerardo