MILAN - Italian banks have agreed with trade unions to extend until the end of February a nationwide contract for bank employees that was due to expire at the end of the year, ahead of talks on a new contract.
The agreement confirms that the Italian Banking Association and unions will act in "a constructive manner" in facing the expiry of the current contract, ABI and the unions said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The new contract will be negotiated against the backdrop of double-digit inflation. Italian banks so far have managed to keep costs in check, while soaring prices have impacted the labour costs of some European rivals.
Staff costs at Italy's main lenders in the first nine months fell 0.9% from a year before, according to calculations by the UILCA trade union, contributing to a 0.6% annual decrease in total operating costs.
