Italian Apple Store Staff Strike on iPhone 18 Pro Launch Day

More than 1,600 workers at all 17 Apple stores in Italy walked out on iPhone 18 Pro launch day, unions claiming 70% participation, to demand hiring and permanent contracts.

On Friday, September 18, the day the iPhone 18 Pro went on sale worldwide, three Italian unions — Filcams CGIL, Fisascat CISL and Uiltucs — called a full-shift strike across all 17 Apple stores in Italy, covering more than 1,600 employees, Fisascat CISL said. Dozens of workers picketed outside Apple's flagship glass-cube store on Piazza Liberty in Milan, waving red flags and blowing whistles as customers queued to enter, and around a hundred staff joined an authorised protest in Piazza Capranica near the Via del Corso store in Rome, according to Il Sole 24 Ore.

The unions deliberately timed the walkout for Apple's busiest retail day of the year. "For Apple as a company, image is very important," Filcams CGIL representative Nicholas Pezze told Reuters, as quoted by The Lufkin Daily News. "As unions, we thought this would be the right day to stage an image of protest from the workers we represent." The Next Web notes the tactic has precedent: French Apple store staff walked out during the iPhone 15 launch, and Rome staff struck before the iPhone 4S release in 2011 with the slogan "Strike Different." Because talks to renew the company agreement are ongoing, the strike is part of that process rather than a break from it, The Next Web reports.

The unions are demanding adequate staffing levels, a jointly agreed recruitment plan, the conversion of fixed-term employees onto permanent contracts, and the option for part-time staff to work longer hours if they choose. According to The Lufkin Daily News, unions say each new iPhone launch piles more work on retail staff whose job descriptions have become increasingly confusing and geared toward customer care. The Next Web reports that Apple's main response so far — expanding fixed-term hiring, with contracts running close to seven months — has been deemed insufficient because it leaves the structural problem untouched.

According to Il Sole 24 Ore, Fisascat CISL reported an average strike participation rate of about 70 per cent, while Apple said its stores were operating as normal. The unions frame the dispute around the gap between Apple's financial performance and its retail conditions, pointing to rising sales and a global market capitalisation of roughly 5,000 billion dollars. "Apple cannot celebrate its profits whilst ignoring those who make them possible," said Francesco Muci, a national Fisascat CISL representative, arguing the group's success must translate into stable employment and dignity. The unions note a meal voucher increase to 10 euros in August was a real outcome of negotiations but does not resolve the underlying organisational problems.

The strike centres on renewing the company agreement that covers staffing, shifts, contract types and pay for all 1,600 Apple Retail Italia employees, The Next Web reports. The dispute opened in June, a July 29 meeting failed to close the gap, and staff assemblies held simultaneously across Italian stores on September 7 gave the unions a strike mandate, according to Yellow. Filcams CGIL says workloads have climbed while staffing levels stay low, and productivity targets have grown tougher under new store procedures. Apple, meanwhile, says it is "proud to offer industry-leading compensation and benefits," citing private medical, dental and vision coverage and mental health support, as reported by The Lufkin Daily News.

The pressure on retail staff is set to continue: the iPhone 18 Pro starts at €1,489 ($1,710) in Italy, and Apple's first foldable smartphone, the Duo, is due in stores in October, according to The Lufkin Daily News, which puts the foldable's arrival at October 23. Il Sole 24 Ore notes the unions say the Duo launch will place further strain on shop staff and reinforces their call for prompt action on staffing. The unions confirm they remain willing to engage in dialogue, but the industrial action mandate is still in force, and Il Sole 24 Ore reports local chapters may call further strike hours. Yellow reports the two sides first signed a company-level agreement in 2013, making this renewal round a pivotal test of Apple's retail labour model in Italy.