Decree allocates nearly €1 billion in employment incentives centred on a “fair wage” however unions criticise the new measures.
The Italian government on Tuesday approved a new employment decree timed to coincide with Labour Day – a national public holiday in Italy – on Friday 1 May.
Prime minister Giorgia Meloni announced the decree at a press conference following a cabinet meeting at Palazzo Chigi, describing it as featuring a “fair wage” and youth work incentives.
“We believe this is the best way to thank the Italians who contribute every day with their work to make our nation great,” she said.
€1 billion package
The decree allocates almost €1 billion in employment incentives. A central condition of accessing these incentives is the payment of a fair wage.
Meloni stressed that there would be no incentives available to employers using so-called “pirate contracts” or those who underpay their workers.
The “fair wage” is defined not solely on the basis of an hourly rate but on the total economic treatment received by the worker, encompassing all financial elements that form part of the employment contract.
Among the decree’s measures is an extension until the end of the year of hiring bonuses – due to expire on 30 April – for workers under the age of 35, disadvantaged female workers and those employed within Special Economic Zones (ZES).
Digital gangmastering
The decree also introduces measures to combat so-called “digital gangmastering” (caporalato digitale), which particularly affects gig economy delivery riders.
Under the new rules, access to digital platforms will require verified identification – via SPID, electronic identity card or multi-factor authentication – and platforms will be prohibited from issuing more than one account per tax identification number, or from assigning incompatible tasks simultaneously to the same worker.
Additionally, in an experimental measure, mandatory insurance cover against workplace injuries will be extended to family carers (caregiver familiare).
Meloni also noted that the structural reduction in the contributory wedge (cuneo contributivo), raised to seven percentage points, is now worth around €1,000 per year in additional take-home pay for a worker earning around €32,000 annually.
Criticism
Maurizio Landini, secretary general of CGIL – Italy’s largest trade union – was highly critical of the measures.
“May Day is a workers’ holiday,” but “in this decree, the €960 million allocated goes to businesses. Workers won’t get a cent,” Landini said in an interview on DiMartedì.
“They simply give money if a company hires. I find that a bit strange: a company hires if it needs it. They should pay and raise workers’ wages. They’re not doing this, I’d like to make that clear” – Landini charged – “This decree doesn’t give workers a single euro more,” while the latter “continue to pay more taxes than they should”.
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