They wear white coats, but today they leave the pharmacy counters to take to the streets. At 10:30, the pharmacists and pharmacists of Sardinia met in front of the Prefecture of Cagliari, in Piazza Palazzo, for a regional picket that is part of the national mobilization called by Filcams Cgil, Fisascat Cisl and Uiltucs.
The protest is a cry of alarm against the stalemate in negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreement, which has been at a standstill for years.
What is inflaming the workers' spirits is Federfarma's unwillingness to recognize economic and regulatory adjustments, despite a unitary union platform already presented some time ago . "We have new responsibilities but no recognition. We cannot go on like this", the unions denounce.
Federico Antonelli of Filcams Cgil nazionale, spokesperson of the unitary message shared with Fisascat and Uiltucs at the national level, will also participate in the Cagliari demonstration. "This is a battle for the dignity of work, which concerns the entire country", says Antonelli.
In Sardinia, over two thousand workers are involved. According to regional secretaries Nella Milazzo (Filcams), Monica Porcedda (Fisascat) and Cristiano Ardau (Uiltucs), the category has been called upon in recent years to carry out increasingly complex tasks: from vaccines to swabs, from ECGs to pharmacovigilance services. "We don't just deliver drugs, we are an integral part of the health system," they emphasize. But despite this expansion of skills, there has been no improvement in contractual conditions.
The most contested issue is Federfarma's salary offer: just 120 euros of increase. "An offensive figure - the unions thunder - that mortifies the competence and commitment of thousands of professionals".
The risk, according to workers' representatives, is also that of a future with fewer and fewer pharmacists: "With the decline in graduates, the sector is already suffering. A fair contract is the first step to make this profession attractive again."
