Puglia school staffing crisis: Uil Scuola reports high levels of precarious employment

The Uil Scuola Puglia union has raised alarms regarding critical staffing shortages and high levels of precarious employment within the school system in the Puglia region for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Regarding special education support, Gianni Verga, the union's general secretary, reported that there are 11,371 positions filled via derogation (temporary exceptions) compared to only 10,503 permanent staff positions. This means derogations exceed the entire permanent regional workforce by 8.3%. The imbalance is most severe in Bari, where temporary positions exceed permanent ones by 31.3%, and in Taranto, where they exceed permanent staff by 38.9%.

The union also criticized the Ministry of Education and Merit for insufficient permanent hiring of administrative, technical, and auxiliary (ATA) staff. Out of 2,272 vacant permanent positions, only 808 permanent hires have been authorized. This leaves 1,464 vacancies to be filled by temporary contracts. When combined with 1,713 temporary positions under derogation, the region will see a total of 3,177 substitute assignments, an increase of 574 over the previous year. Verga described the situation as a policy that prioritizes turnover over stabilization, creating long-term uncertainty for workers.