In a statement, Filcams Cgil denounces the working conditions of employees in large-scale retail distribution: the employment model of the supply chain is “based on 20-hour weekly contracts” and, according to the union, in almost six out of ten cases (57.8%) part-time work is imposed and not chosen.
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In response to these claims, Confcommercio explains that “the wage problem certainly exists and must be addressed, but it cannot be used to turn every form of part-time work into the category of poor work.”
Involuntary part-time
In commerce, explains Filcams, part-time work has become “a tool of structural impoverishment.” The union states that 38.2% of employees work part-time – 849,120 out of a total of 2,221,670 – while the general average in the Italian economy stands at 27.4 percent. The phenomenon, the statement continues, is also characterized by a strong gender gap, affecting 54.6% of female workers and only 22.9% of male workers.
This mechanism “produces insufficient wages, makes it impossible to build an adequate income and at the same time prevents the worker from seeking a second job.”
Holiday openings
It is precisely here, Filcams continues, that the issue of holiday and Sunday openings comes into play: for tens of thousands of workers, summer means “more intense shifts, heavier work rhythms and the renunciation of the right to rest.” Hypermarkets and shopping centers continue to be crowded even during the summer period, while consumption “rests on the shoulders of those who cannot enjoy summer.” Filcams General Secretary Fabrizio Russo adds that “we cannot continue to accept that the right to leisure and free time for millions of people is guaranteed through the permanent sacrifice of those who work in commerce.”
