Prefecture of Bergamo, staff protesting since Thursday 23 May

Bergamo. After a consultation among the workers and after a further meeting with the administration of the institution, from Thursday 23 May the staff of Prefecture of Bergamo is in a state of turmoil: shortage of staff, reduction of overtime work, unspendable meal vouchers, lack of training and a difficult situation at the headquarters via Zelasco they are the most critical issues that workers have to face every day and which have already been repeatedly reported by trade unions.

The start of the protest by the Prefecture’s staff joins that which has been ongoing for weeks among the employees of the administrative offices of the Court of Bergamo and of Power of attorney.

The delegates of Unitary Trade Union Representation of the Prefecture carried out an extraordinary consultation, which ended on May 3, to ask all employees to express their opinion on the proclamation of the state of unrest. Come on 56 workers on staff, responded in 45.

“The mandate given to the trade unions was very clear: 39 workers said they were in favor of starting a state of unrest (93% of those who expressed their opinion) – they report Leopoldo Chiummo for FP Cgil, Fabio D’Aniello for Cisl Fp, Maria Rita Wandering for Uilpa, Maurizio Lurgio for Unsa, with the MSW-. In a meeting with the Prefecture last May 9th we again reported all the problems and asked for written feedback within ten days. On May 17th the Administration sent us the reply communication. While recognizing that some first steps have finally been put in place, the measures implemented or proposed are largely insufficient compared to the critical issues highlighted”.

“For this reason, with the RSU, we have proclaimed a state of agitation in the hope that it will serve to effectively resolve the problems – continue the trade unionists -. The call for the cooling-off procedure, i.e. for a possible conciliation, is already scheduled for Wednesday 29 May at 5pm. It is understood that if the meeting does not have a positive outcome, all necessary actions will be taken, including the calling of a strike.”

The reasons for the protest

Shortage of staff: the issue has been known for some time and for the unions it constitutes the most significant problem within the Prefecture. Despite the recent addition of some new units, the shortage remains dramatic and will be further exacerbated in the coming months, when further retirements will occur.

Overtime: following the reduction in overtime communicated by the personnel office in December, the RSU sent several written communications to the administration asking for clarifications, without a positive outcome. It is unacceptable that the Prefecture adopts such an attitude towards the union – and therefore towards all the workers represented – just as it is unacceptable that overtime hours already worked (and in some cases already authorized) are deducted in the absence of prior information to the workers concerned. Furthermore, there are continuous delays in the payment of overtime paid by employees, in a situation in which, in fact, overtime is increasingly being used to ‘plug the holes’ caused by the serious shortage of staff in all offices. There is also a need for greater clarity in the procedures for authorizing overtime hours and in prior communication to workers. Finally, it is shameful that colleagues included in the 2023 electoral contingent are still waiting – more than a year later – to receive what they are due for overtime relating to the last regional elections. “In these conditions, we wonder who will be willing to work overtime hours for the upcoming 2024 elections,” we read in the joint note.

Situation of the headquarters in via Zelasco: critical issues related to the poor cleaning of the stairs, the failure to repair the air conditioning (cooling) system and in general the precarious safety conditions of the building have been reported for a long time. The prolonged absence of an administrator has led to ongoing problems in the management of the building’s common areas.

Training: in many cases employees lack the necessary training to operate and very often workers are assigned or moved to offices without handovers and without providing any specific training.

Food stamps: the new “GM Lunch” electronic meal vouchers are poorly usable by employees, due to the fact that they cannot be used in the main large-scale retail chains and the limited number of affiliated shops in the city area. In addition, even for meal vouchers (to which workers are entitled as an ancillary part of their salary) there are continuous delays in disbursement.