On Thursday, more than 60,000 private pharmacy workers in Italy stage a 24-hour national strike to demand higher wages and the renewal of the National Collective Labour Agreement (CCNL), which expired on 31st August 2024.
The mass mobilisation was called by the country’s main labour unions, which accuse the Italian employers’ association Federfarma of showing a ‘lack of willingness for constructive dialogue’.
In a joint statement, the Italian General Confederation of labour (CGIL), the Italian Confederation of Workers’ Trade Unions (CISL), and the Italian labour Union (UIL) said negotiations have stalled due to the employers’ refusal to address key issues such as pay raises and better working conditions.
They added that they have presented ‘concrete and sustainable’ proposals for renewing the contract to ensure fair wage increases, improved work-life balance, recognition of professional skills, and greater access to training.
A joint statement from the unions said: ‘Federfarma must return to the negotiating table with the confederal trade unions, facilitating a swift conclusion to the talks and demonstrating a real commitment to protecting pharmacists and pharmacy staff in private pharmacies by approving a contract renewal that reflects the true value of the profession.
The strike began at midnight Thursday, with picket lines and demonstrations planned in several Italian cities.
Pharmacies, however, will continue to provide essential services.
General Confederation of labour (CGIL), the Italian Confederation of Workers’ Trade Unions (CISL), and the Italian Labour Union (UIL) added: ‘Private pharmacies are essential health and social centres, and the professionalism of pharmacists deserves respect, recognition, and contractual protection in line with the skills required by the service.
Meanwhile, Italian air traffic control workers are set to go on a 24 hour strike on Friday 14th November, and on Thursday 27th November there is due to be a 24-hour national rail strike and a national transport strike on Friday 28th November.
On Saturday 29th November there is due to be a 24-hour public sector general strike.
There have been several massive strikes in Italy in the last three months, including a general strike on 22nd September against the Israeli genocide on Gaza.
For several months, dockers in Genoa port have been refusing to load Israeli ships.
- German automaker BMW said on Wednesday that US tariff hikes have hurt its business, joining Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz in warning of growing profit pressures from trade barriers.
According to BMW’s quarterly report, the group’s operating profit, or earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), fell 16.2 per cent year-on-year to 8.06 billion euros (£7.1 billion) in the first nine months.
The nine-month decline was less severe than in the first half of the year, when EBIT dropped 26.8 per cent following the introduction of US tariffs on European car imports.
An apparent rebound in the third quarter partly offset earlier losses, largely due to a low comparison base a year earlier, when BMW faced high costs related to a major braking-system issue with suppliers.
BMW’s global deliveries rose 2.4 per cent from January to September, driven mainly by strong demand for electrified models.
However, revenue declined 5.6 per cent to around 100 billion euros (£88 billion), and net profit dropped to 5.7 billion euros (£5.02 billion).
Walter Mertl, member of BMW’s Board of Management responsible for Finance, said tariffs reduced the EBIT margin in the automotive segment by around 1.75 percentage points in the third quarter, adding that the group expects a tariff-related headwind of 1.5 percentage points for the full year.
The US government raised tariffs on cars imported from the European Union by 25 per cent in early April, putting German manufacturers under pressure.
Although Washington and Brussels agreed in late July to lower the rate to 15 per cent, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) said the new level remained punitive and warned of substantial long-term losses for the sector.
Before BMW’s results, Germany’s other two auto giants also reported lower nine-month profits last week, both citing the impact of US tariffs.
Volkswagen, Europe’s largest car manufacturer, posted an operating profit of 5.4 billion euros for the first three quarters, down 58 per cent year-on-year, while car sales in North America fell 11 per cent during the same period.
Luxury brand Mercedes-Benz owns no manufacturing plants in the United States, making it more exposed to the punitive import duties.
The company reported a net profit of 3.88 billion euros (£3.42 billion) for the first nine months, down by half from a year earlier.
Emmanuel Macron is the ‘least popular president of the Fifth Republic’ – poll finds
A NEW poll published on Thursday has revealed that Emmanuel Macron has become France’s least popular president in over half a century.
The Verian Group survey, published in the daily Le Figaro on Thursday, shows that only 11 per cent of the French public approve of the 47-year-old president, placing him alongside former Socialist president François Hollande at his record low in late 2016.
The poll also indicates that 70 per cent of the French population wants Macron to resign before the end of his second and final term in 2027.
According to Verian’s assessment, Macron and Hollande now share the title of France’s least popular president since the early 1970s.
Macron’s approval rating has plummeted to the lowest level for any French president since France adopted the constitution of the Fifth Republic in 1958.
The current French president shares an unwelcome record with his predecessor, Hollande, who played a pivotal role in launching Macron’s political career.
The previous low approval rating recorded in the same poll before the Macron-Hollande dip was held by Jacques Chirac, who reached 16 per cent in July 2006 at the end of his second and final term.
Eddy Vautrin-Dumaine, head of public surveys and opinion polls at Verian, concluded that ‘Emmanuel Macron is undoubtedly the least popular president of the Fifth Republic’.
In addition to political fatigue after eight years in power, Vautrin-Dumaine attributed the main source of disapproval to Macron’s decision to ‘dissolve parliament and call snap elections in July last year, which led to political deadlock, a hung parliament, and a budget-less France’.