Pay and problems

Count your days, check your payslip and ask for what is missing.

Key words

Read these before you listen: you will hear most of them.

la giornatathe (working) day
Questo mese ho lavorato venti giornate.
Feminine. Giorno is the calendar day, giornata the day as something you live or work through. In farm work la giornata is also the unit of pay and contributions.
il foglio presenzethe attendance sheet / timesheet
Firma il foglio presenze quando arrivi.
Masculine, plural i fogli presenze. La presenza is attendance; keep your own record of days and hours too.
la pagathe pay / wages
La paga arriva il dieci di ogni mese.
Feminine. La paga oraria is hourly pay. Lo stipendio is more often used for a regular monthly salary.
a cottimoby the piece / piecework
In quell'azienda pagano a cottimo, a cassetta.
An adverbial phrase: lavorare a cottimo, essere pagato a cottimo. Whatever the method, pay must not fall below the minimum set by the contract.
il dirittothe right
Le ferie pagate sono un tuo diritto.
Masculine. Avere diritto a is to be entitled to: hai diritto alla pausa. As an adjective dritto / diritto means straight.
il sindacatothe trade union
Il sindacato mi ha aiutato a controllare il contratto.
Masculine, plural i sindacati. A union representative is il / la sindacalista. The three largest union federations are CGIL, CISL and UIL.
il patronatothe welfare advice office
Al patronato mi hanno aiutato con la domanda di disoccupazione.
Masculine. Free offices, often linked to trade unions, that help with pensions, unemployment benefit and residence permit paperwork. Nothing to do with patronage.

A farm worker finds fewer working days on his payslip than he worked, and asks how to put it right. 5 questions; finishing them completes this step.