Seasonal, fixed-term, intermittent, and agency contracts were the most frequently signed in the first few months of 2026, including in Sardinia.

The data released nationally paint a worrying picture : 77.8% of new hires in the first quarter of 2026 were on fixed-term, seasonal, agency, or intermittent contracts. A closer look reveals a bleak picture: in the first quarter of 2026, private sector hiring remained stable, but seasonal, agency, and intermittent contracts increased. On the other hand , both permanent contracts and conversions to permanent contracts decreased , falling overall to 202,000, approximately 15,000 fewer than in 2025.

"This picture also reflects the situation on the island," Uil Sardegna emphasizes, "but precise data is lacking. In Sardinia, the Labour Information System (SIL) continues to update employment trends monthly, but it hasn't yet published a regional count of precarious workers broken down by sector ."

For agriculture, for example, the most recent data available for Sardinia confirms 23,796 agricultural workers, of which 16,778 are temporary workers, equal to 70.5% of the total.

"The Sardinia Region should establish a permanent observatory on ghost workers ," demand Fulvia Murru, general secretary of UIL Sardinia, and Alessio Mocco, regional coordinator of UIL TEMP (precarious workers). "This should include quarterly publication of the number of precarious workers by sector: healthcare, call centers, metalworking, commerce, tourism, agriculture, construction, industry, and services. Only by knowing the actual numbers will it be possible to plan a special stabilization plan . The numbers demonstrate that precariousness is not a phenomenon limited to one sector, but represents a condition that affects the entire labor market."

According to the union, trade, tourism, agriculture, industry, construction, healthcare, services, telecommunications, and public administration all share the same problem: " Thousands of workers have been living in a state of uncertainty for years , alternating between fixed-term contracts, extensions, seasonal work, agency work, and involuntary part-time work."

They are ghost workers : people who are essential to the functioning of businesses and public services, but still lack the job stability that would allow them to build a life plan, take out a mortgage, start a family, and look to the future with confidence.

For this reason, UIL Sardinia is launching a regional campaign to stabilize precarious employment . "Our request is clear," Murru and Mocco explain, "to initiate a concrete process that promotes the stable hiring of all precarious workers who have been providing essential services for years and are a fundamental resource for the productive system and public administration. The campaign concerns all sectors where precarious employment has become a permanent condition rather than the exception."

According to the secretary, "we don't need welfare or temporary measures," they specify. "Sardinia needs stable employment, professional development, and recognition of the right of those who have worked continuously for years to see their employment transformed into secure employment."

(Unioneonline/AD)

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