More than 1,600 Apple store workers in Italy walked off the job Friday over staffing and workloads, striking on the day the iPhone 18 Pro went on sale worldwide.
Key Points:
- Three Italian unions called a full-shift strike across all 17 Apple stores in the country.
- Workers want more hiring, permanent contracts for fixed-term staff and longer hours for part-timers who ask.
- Apple says its stores stayed open and points to its pay and benefits.
Apple Italy Store Strike
Three unions, Filcams CGIL, Fisascat CISL and Uiltucs, called on members to skip their entire shift and picket outside flagship stores in Rome, Milan and other major cities.
Organizers placed the main protests at the Via del Corso store in Rome and the Piazza Liberty location in Milan, where the picket was set to run three hours.
The strike covers more than 1,600 employees at 17 stores, Fisascat CISL said.
Apple kept its doors open. A spokesperson told reporters that its retail and online stores were operating and that the company was excited to welcome customers as usual.
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Unions Press Apple On Staffing
Unions say each new iPhone launch piles more work on store staff, whose job descriptions have grown confusing and keep drifting toward customer care. Talks with employees showed conditions getting worse without enough attention to their well-being, Filcams CGIL said. The unions want Apple to hire more people, move fixed-term workers onto permanent contracts and let part-timers work longer hours if they choose.
Apple's main answer so far has been to expand fixed-term hiring and move it earlier. The unions argued that step leaves the structural problem untouched, because those contracts now run close to seven months.
The company countered that it is proud to offer industry-leading compensation and benefits, pointing to private medical, dental and vision coverage and to mental health programs.
Friday was a heavy day on the sales floor beyond the phone, which starts at 1,489 euros, or about $1,710, in Italy. Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4 and AirPods 5 also reached Italian stores, and the Duo, the company's first foldable, arrives on Oct. 23.
Apple Retail Italia Dispute
The walkout caps a dispute that opened in June. A meeting on Jul. 29 failed to close the gap. The unions then called the strike after assemblies held simultaneously across Italian stores on Sept. 7, where staff described understaffing, heavier workloads and overlapping duties.
Italian Apple workers have used launch timing before.
Staff at the Rome store struck ahead of the iPhone 4S release in 2011, playing on the company's "Think Different" slogan with the line "Strike Different," and pressing demands that included a bigger monthly bonus and limits on employee monitoring.
The two sides signed a first company-level agreement for the Italian stores in 2013, and the unions now warn that local chapters may add more strike hours.
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