Italian unions representing workers at Stellantis, Ferrari, Iveco and CNH Industrial will ask for a wage increase of over 8 per cent to be paid in 2023 to help cover soaring energy and food bills, a senior source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

That’s the request we will make to the companies, to recover purchasing power workers are losing this year due to inflation, the source said, after two different sources said on Tuesday that unions would request a raise of at least 6.5 per cent.

Europe’s cost-of-living crisis is putting upward pressure on wage inflation as companies across the continent face demands from workers to cushion the impact of rising prices. Consumer prices rose 8.9 per cent year on year in Italy in September.

Unions will present on Monday their formal proposal for a new four-year contract for Italian employees, including for salary increases, to carmakers Stellantis and Ferrari, truckmaker Iveco and agricultural and construction machine maker CNH Industrial.

The current contracts expire at the end of this year.