Workers at Italy's stock exchange staged a half-day strike yesterday to demand better working conditions, amid strained relations with pan-European exchange operator Euronext, of which Borsa Italiana is a member.
About 100 employees demonstrated outside the stock exchange building in Milan's Piazza Affari, some carrying trade union banners.
"Our aim is to draw attention to a situation of deep discontent over working conditions at one of the key infrastructures of Italy's financial system," Gabriele Poeta Paccati, a representative of the FISAC-CGIL union, told Reuters.
The strike did ot disrupted trading, which is fully automated on a single platform.
Around 800 people work at the group's sites in Milan and Rome for its platforms which exchange company shares and government and corporate bonds. These platforms include Borsa Italiana, Monte Titoli, MTS and CC&G.
Workers staged a similar but shorter two-hour strike two years ago, which they say produced an inadequate response from management.
Most of the workers' complaints involve relations with Paris-based Euronext, which they say excludes Italian staff from key decisions.
Among issues they cite are plans by Euronext to halve the number of days on which staff can work from home to four per month from eight, a company bonus considered disappointing, and a failure to increase the value of lunch vouchers.
Euronext said in a statement that its performance in Italy had delivered "unprecedented results, reflected in a headcount increase of more than 30%, from 655 to over 870 employees."
The group, which operates the Dublin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo, Athens and Paris exchanges, completed its acquisition of Borsa Italiana from London Stock Exchange Group in 2021, in a €4.3 billion deal.
As part of the transaction, Italian state lender CDP and Italy's largest bank Intesa Sanpaolo bought 8.1% and 1.55% of Euronext respectively. France's Caisse des Depots also holds 8.1%.
The unions argue that since the 2021 acquisition, the "federal" model announced by the group has gradually turned into a centralisation of decision-making in Paris.
"Euronext remains fully committed to the development, competitiveness, and long-term success of the Italian market and continues to work closely with all stakeholders to support its growth," the bourse operator said in its statement.
