Italian unions agree workers' rights deal with Amazon

MILAN, July 22 (Reuters) - Italian unions have signed an agreement with Amazon.com covering leave, employee rights and video surveillance, the unions and the U.S. e-commerce giant said on Wednesday.

• The Filt CGIL, Fit CISL and Uiltrasporti unions said 57 sites operating in Italy were covered in the deal struck with Amazon Italia Transport and Amazon Italia Logistica and hailed it as the first such national collective agreement reached with Amazon in any country.

• Regarding video surveillance, the unions said it has been agreed that images cannot be used for disciplinary purposes.

• Employees have been granted the right to take parental leave in increments as small as a single hour, the unions added.

• "We welcome the agreement reached with trade unions, which introduces new flexibility and work-life balance tools and enhances existing ones, bringing them into a shared framework for the benefit of our employees and their families," Amazon said in a statement.

• The agreement builds on an initial protocol signed with Amazon in 2021.

• Amazon has 19,000 permanent employees in Italy.

(Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Alvise Armellini)