Landini takes a pragmatic approach: he signs agreements and considers his political legacy for the CGIL

The news is minor but significant: after numerous public sector contracts went unsigned, the CGIL has signed two with ARAN within the space of a month. The first, in June, covered central government services; the second, last week, covered local government services. The latter was accompanied by a positive comment from Secretary Maurizio Landini. Beyond the content, it is the political significance that matters. After many seasons of confrontation, the atmosphere now seems different. The CGIL, CISL and UIL have reunited (few would have bet that this would happen), and relations with the employers’ organisations also appear to be excellent. Landini’s CGIL, Orsini’s Confindustria, and Sangalli & Lusetti’s Confcommercio (an alliance dubbed ‘the Emilian clan’, given their shared regional origins) are getting on famously, committed to the same objective: together with Daniela Fumarola’s CISL and Pierpaolo Bombardieri’s UIL, and alongside all the business associations, to secure an agreement that rewrites industrial relations, starting with representation and contract reform. A matter, therefore, that is very much about trade unions and very little about ‘ideology’, considering the accusation often levelled at the CGIL leader. In reality, the secretary has, if he ever had one, abandoned the ideological phase in favour of an attitude that could be described as ‘pragmatic-Zen’: if there is a worthwhile result to be achieved, you achieve it, full stop. And the result to which Landini now attaches the greatest value is signing the first agreement in history that will bring together all representatives from the worlds of production and labour: the CGIL, CISL and UIL on one side, and on the other, 14 business associations spanning industry, commerce, the craft sector, SMEs, insurance, and perhaps even the banking sector.

To lay the groundwork for launching this major round-table discussion, trade unions and employers’ organisations have been working behind the scenes for almost a year, but the actual negotiations have now taken place over the past two days: the starting point is the two joint platforms, presented by CGIL, CISL and UIL in June and by the 14 employers’ organisations in July. And the fact that both the trade unions and the employers’ organisations – amongst whom historic rivalries persist – have managed to agree on two joint texts is already something of a minor revolution. Obviously, a few days will not be enough to finalise the deal, but the plan is to continue with technical working groups and then move towards signing the agreement in early September. Getting everyone on the same page will not be easy, but it is also true that, having reached this stage, no one can afford to derail the talks: the embarrassment would be unforgivable.

For Landini, in particular, this major agreement also represents his political legacy for the CGIL, which he will leave in 2027 after eight years characterised by ‘one battle after another’, punctuated by strikes against every government, demonstrations and referendum campaigns. The national congress that will confirm his successor has not yet been scheduled: it has been agreed to hold it after the general election, but in any case, in a few months’ time, the CGIL will have a new leadership. Unlike usual, no names of potential candidates are being bandied about this time, and Landini, moreover, has no recognised successors, but there is no doubt that he will have a strong say in the choice.

It would, however, be a mistake to think that the secretary intends to spend this final stretch at the helm of the confederation simply relaxing. Alongside the ‘zen’-style negotiations with businesses, the usual activism will also continue, to the extent that a major new mobilisation is already planned for the autumn. The aim: the “participatory and democratic construction of a new development model”, with a series of disputes covering a wide range of issues, from housing to healthcare, from taxation to wages. The impression is that Landini intends to accompany the upcoming election campaign with a relentless series of mobilisations: not to stand as a candidate himself – he is keen to point out – but ‘to speak to the nation’, and also ‘to broaden the base of social and political alliances’. It is no coincidence that he has just begun a round of meetings with the political parties, to raise their awareness of the two draft bills on healthcare and public procurement put forward by Corso Italia. The first meeting, curiously enough, was with Italia Viva. Which, just as curiously, expressed “agreement on the principles and aims of the proposals put forward”, whilst reserving the right to “further examination”.