Monday 13 April will be a strike day for private pharmacies. This is a 24-hour national agitation that promises to be very popular throughout Italy. The mobilization, called by the unions Filcams Cgil, Fisascat Cisl and Uiltucs, will affect more than 76 thousand workers in the sector. The strike will last from midnight to midnight on the same day and will affect all employees: not only pharmacist collaborators, but also employees and operators employed in pharmacies.
Despite the abstention from work, pharmacies will not close completely. Based on the provisions of the Guarantee Commission on strikes, implemented by Federfarma (the owners’ association), the minimum essential services must be guaranteed. In particular:
- the presence of at least one third of the usual staff must be ensured;
- at least 50% of the services normally provided will be guaranteed;
- minimum services must be ensured by all open pharmacies, not just those on duty.
The objective is to avoid serious inconvenience to the population, ensuring access to medicines and essential services. Only in exceptional cases, such as the total participation of the staff and the impossibility of the owner to guarantee the opening, may closure be envisaged, which must be communicated to the local health authorities and the mayor. Furthermore, pharmacies are required to warn users in advance with an information sign displayed at least 5 days before the strike.
The reasons for the protest
At the center of the mobilization is the failure to renew the national collective agreement for the sector, which expired in August 2024. The unions denounce a stalemate in the negotiations and consider the economic proposal put forward by their employer counterparts to be insufficient. Among the main demands are: the adjustment of wages to the cost of living; the recovery of purchasing power eroded by inflation; the full recognition of the professionalism and valorisation of the growing responsibilities of the staff.
In addition to economic aspects, the protest also aims for regulatory and organizational improvements. The requests include: more protected conditions on working hours and shifts; greater guarantees on maternity and illness; investments in professional training; strengthening trade union relations; a more modern organization of work.
The trade union organizations also underline the need to update the contract in light of the new functions required of pharmacists, especially after the evolution of the so-called “service pharmacy”, which has expanded the role of pharmacies in the healthcare system. According to the unions, the sector has changed profoundly in recent years and requires an updated contract that recognizes the new role of pharmacies as a local health facility.