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“It’s the first strike ever of the Fondazione Sistema Toscana since its inception. We’ve been waiting for answers for three years: enough is enough.” Valentina Berti of Filcams Cgil bangs her fists on the table while explaining the reasons that led the workers of the Foundation to organize a picket in front of the headquarters of the Tuscany region.
The private law non-profit foundation was established in 2004 by the Region and Banca Monte dei Paschi to create and manage the Tuscany internet portal and to promote the regional territory through the web, multimedia productions and social media. Since 2010, following the merger with Mediateca Regionale Toscana, it has also developed and supported activities in the film and audiovisual fields, implementing regional sector policies also in the educational and training fields.
“Without the Foundation it is as if the Region was missing an arm to make projects – explains Berti – cinemas, regional promotion projects, festivals such as the Internet Festival in Florence and so on would fail, as well as boosting tourism in Tuscany. This is why we want those who work there to be listened to in their requests.”
The reasons for the strike are multiple. “For three years we have been waiting for a response regarding Sunday pay, regularization of travel and reimbursements, and on levels (qualification increases, ed.). We had signed an agreement on the increases in levels for some workers, which they were supposed to have, last October 16th with implementation that was supposed to take place by June 30th and it has not yet been implemented. We asked for a meeting with the foundation to get clarification but it refuses to meet us saying that it has other things to do.”
The workers then turn to the Region. “Since the budget has been approved by the Tuscany region – Berti emphasizes – we want to know if this money was requested by the Foundation or if this is the third year in which we are being told a story. We know that the money and time to give legitimate prizes to certain figures have been there, we ask ourselves why some things seem extremely fast and others get lost in the meanders”.
The foundation has seventy workers, thirty of whom are part of the trade contract. “There is also a big problem with the contracts,” observes Berti. “We have 12 leasing staff (hired on a permanent basis by an employment agency, ed.) and a lot of self-employed workers who work permanently as temporary workers on a permanent basis in the Foundation. And it is something that the Region must know because they cannot afford something like this and they must have an idea of what happens in there. We have no doubt that the Region does it in a crystal-clear manner, but it must know, in practical terms, how the money is managed: in a completely unclear manner and with no respect for union representatives.”
