The Public Contracts Code recently approved by the Council of Ministers respected the objective of “simplifying, streamlining, reducing bureaucracy, with great attention to Municipalities, especially smaller ones”. These are the words of Matteo Salvini, Minister of Infrastructure, which are also echoed by the main unions and associations.
«The approval of the text is good news: in general, the introduction of the new code reinforces the primary interest in completing the work within a reasonable time». Among the first comments are these words by Enzo Pelle, general secretary of the national Filca-CISL. The reference to support for small and medium-sized contractors concerns the threshold for awarding works, raised by opinion of the Council of State: with the new law, according to forecasts, more than 80 percent of existing contracts could have been faster. More work for companies, in shorter times also for the construction of works, for the benefit of all citizens. The involvement of the Regions in the planning of strategic works is important: those with concrete financial sustainability indexes will be directly included in the Economic and Financial Document. Finally, greater liberalization of the integrated tender is foreseen: in this way, small and medium-sized municipalities will have a tool that allows the company to prepare projects, with the exception of ordinary maintenance works. «From a technical point of view, one of the most significant innovations is the presence of 35 annexes» continues Pelle «making the Code directly applicable. It is an important provision because it concerns investments and their quality, fundamental for the future of the country. For a long time it was necessary to resort to derogating laws from the Code to carry out public works.
The new code has the prerequisites to effectively carry out the task entrusted to it. The regulatory regime in many of its provisions is appreciable and acceptable: I am referring to the clarifications regarding the substitutive intervention of the Contracting Stations in cases of non-compliance with the contributions and salaries of the contractor companies (art. 11), the separation of labor costs and security of the discount (art. 41)”. Trade union organizations are among the main actors involved: the application of contracts signed by the most representative organizations is one of the most important innovations. It guarantees the existence of the same conditions as the main contract and the confirmation of the centrality of the performance of the bilateral construction system in the contribution certification, Durc, as well as in the calculation of the adequacy of the workforce in the execution of an activity. For work, therefore, good news. “In the field of subcontracting and subcontracting, it is positive that the Code entrusts an assessment to the contracting authorities, what deserves more attention is the alignment of the code with European legislation” concludes Pelle. He launches yet another proposal: “for the price review clauses, which are fundamental to not slow down the productive fabric, we have a ‘digital’ proposal: systems of periodic price updates, through a kind of basket of fundamental goods”.
Source: IL Tempo
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
