Co-funded by the European Union

Italy: Tripartite Agreement to Combat and Contain the Spread of the Virus in the Workplace

  • Italian social partners agreed on a shared protocol for occupation health and safety.
  • The protocol provides general health and safety guidance to companies and workers to work safely and combat the spread of Covid-19.

On 14 March 2020, after 18 hours of online negotiation, the Italian Government and the most representative social partners signed the “Shared Protocol for the regulation of measures to combat and contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus in the workplace”. The protocol provided a framework with general safety guidelines for the companies still operating. It referred to different situations and matters, including access to buildings, organisation of work to avoid contact among employees and with external people, personal hygiene precautions, meetings and trainings, and medical control of employees.

The President of Confindustria, Vincenzo Boccia, considered the outcome as an important basis to “understand and consider that the Italian factories at the service of the country, starting from the agri-food and pharmaceutical industries, guarantee to all of us the basic needs and protect every chain of production. By giving priority attention to the health of people in the workplace, this will also allow us to overcome this delicate phase and prepare for the economic recovery as soon as we get out of it”.