Background information

Following up the decree no. six issued on 23 February 2020, on 26 April 2020 the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte outlined a new plan to ease the lockdown restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the COVID-19 infections. Measures will be relaxed from 4 May 2020.

Together with these measures the government negotiated a protocol agreement, included as annex (no. seven) to the decree, with trade unions and employers' organisations on health and safety at work in the building sector for construction sites.

Content of measure

The protocol established specific rules in the building sector, to ensure a safe re-opening of the construction sites in the country. In particular it established the following provisions:

• Information to workers regarding: the health and safety rules applied in the construction site, including the procedure to measure the temperature before accessing the site and the protocol to apply in case of COVID-19 related symptomatology of a worker
• Rules for the access to the construction site of external providers, especially for the transport of goods and people
• Protocol for the sanitation and the proper cleaning of the construction site (in particular of shared spaces as changing rooms, toilets and instruments)
• Rules for the personal hygiene and the correct use of individual protective equipment
• Rules for a safe use of the shared spaces, in particular canteens and changing rooms
• Rules for the organisation of work schedules and workers turnover to prevent assemblages

Use of measure

The protocol applied to all the constructions sites located in the country, both private as well as public ones, which were ongoing during the COVID-19 emergency phase.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Trade unions Employers' organisations	No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

The protocol was negotiated by the Ministry for Infrastructure and Transport and by the Ministry for Labour and Social Policies on the government sites, together with the main employers' organisations in the construction sector (ANCI, UPI, Anas S.p.A., RFI, ANCE, Alleanza delle Cooperative) and the largest trade unions (Feneal Uil, Filca –CISL, and Fillea CGIL). The most representative social partners were involved, signing the main national collective agreement in the sector.

Views and reactions

The social partners are satisfied with the provisions included in the protocol, negotiated during the peak of the COVID-19 emergency. It allowed, in fact, to safely re-open the construction sites, restarting the productive activities for many companies in the building sector. At the same time, it enabled to safeguard the jobs and the income levels of the workforce in the sector, by restarting the on-site activities by ensuring a safe and health workplace.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 26 April 2020: Ministry for Labour and Social Policies