BOLZANO. The industrialists have their say and respond to the unions who complained about salary increases lower than inflation. In ten years the cost of the average personnel of the companies associated with Confindustria Alto Adige (the cost of the personnel is given by gross salary, social security and insurance contributions paid by the company and other items such as, for example, training costs or benefits such as corporate welfare), and consequently also average wages, increased by 43%, approximately 15% more than inflation (which grew by approximately 27% in the same period). The average staff cost of the associated companies therefore reached 70,533 euros per employee: a figure more than a third higher than the provincial average. A result made possible by the high productivity of male and female collaborators, by the ability to innovate, invest and remain competitive of the associated companies.
This is what emerges from Social Report 2024 of Confindustria Alto Adige drawn up on the basis of the main financial statement data of the associated companies and recently published. There are 493 associated companies and they employ over 55,000 people, of which more than 42,000 in Alto Adige – that is, one private employee in four in our province is employed in one of the companies belonging to Confindustria Alto Adige.
«Our associated companies are decisive for the development of the future of our territory, both on an economic, social and environmental level. The performances achieved thanks to the will of the entrepreneurs and the dedication of those who work there benefit the entire South Tyrol. If we want to guarantee our territory and those who live there well-being and long-lasting and sustainable development in the coming years too, we must focus on those companies that create great added value, well-paid quality jobs and use little space”, states the president of Confindustria Alto Adige, Heiner Oberrauch.
The jobs are not only well paid, but also of quality: almost 90 percent of employment contracts in industrial manufacturing activities are permanent, a figure well above the provincial average, equal to approximately 72% and 80%. of the public sector.
The added value. Industrial companies create added value for the territory. The contribution to the South Tyrolean GDP by the sector is equal to 25%, a figure achieved thanks to high productivity. Last year, productivity measured on the added value per employee of associated companies rose to just over 130,000 euros. This is also thanks to the great penetration force on foreign markets: 61% of South Tyrolean exports – which have reached record levels – are made by companies associated with Confindustria Alto Adige.
1.2 billion in tax revenue. The associated companies are therefore open to the world, but well rooted in the territory which they also support through the strong tax revenue. In 2023, between Ires and Irap (458 million euros) and Irpef (773 million euros) paid on the salaries of its collaborators, a tax revenue of over 1.2 billion euros was guaranteed. For comparison: this is a figure practically equivalent to the entire allocation for the education chapter of the 2025 budget of the Province of Bolzano.