Italy: Historic win for unions as McDonald’s signs groundbreaking collective agreement

After sustained pressure, IUF affiliates Filcams CGIL, Fisascat CISL and Uiltucs won a historic first company-level collective agreement at McDonald's Italy. The agreement, which is a significant win for workers, comes after the Italian unions organized strikes and other actions.

The agreement will apply to around 4,000 directly employed workers in McDonald's company-owned and operated restaurants from January 1, 2026.

The company has also committed to promoting the agreement among its franchisees, who will be able to adopt it through an adherence clause. This could extend the agreement to cover an additional 31,000 workers employed under the McDonald's brand across Italy.

The three unions welcomed the signing of the agreement as "a major achievement and an important starting point for building a culture of genuine social dialogue in the fast-food sector - one that can deliver better pay and working conditions, especially for part-time workers."

The new agreement introduces significant advances, including regarding work organization, work-life balance, more secure hours for part-time workers, and increased benefits for workers.

It also brings stronger provisions on health and safety, prevention of violence and harassment at work, and gender equality.

A substantial new relocation allowance has been introduced to support workers who need to move following incidents of violence or harassment.

Workers will also have the right to request part-time work for up to six months after the end of parental leave.