Hunger wages and “out of envelope” money. Changes the exploit limit and “allowed” days off for amnesty received. They weren’t even a statement. With what questions Today Documented working conditions in the restaurant world – most recently by Charlotte Matteini, read here – outline a dramatic scenario (no, the adjective is not an exaggeration), but in fact it is by no means unique. Because illegal or low-paid “black work” is a well-known problem, even with stones, and, oddly enough, it almost never ranks high among the priorities of our political class. Let’s be frank, it’s a fact that we often tend to eliminate, or at best, face inadequate interventions, either for choice calculation or because of a lack of vision or simply a lack of courage.
The data from the National Labor Inspectorate (Inl) are meaningful. The latest report, released Thursday (May 11th), says that of the more than 62,000 inspections carried out at the workplace (excluding social security and insurance checks), irregularities were found in 67% of cases. The highest crime rate is seen in “accommodation and restaurant service activities” (76,61%), followed by the real estate sector with 72.48% and the sector including entertainment and sports activities with 71.20%.
Even among professionals, the irregularity index is very high (70.89%). Things are slightly better in the construction sector (66.50%) and agriculture (56.32%). Regarding undeclared work, 14,906 unemployed cases were identified, of which 4,000 were in hotels and restaurants, 2,712 at construction sites, more than two thousand in agricultural activities, and 1,969 in the manufacturing sector. Other very common irregularities relate to working hours and compliance with safety and health obligations. So in one year, more than a thousand workers were discovered victims of illegal hiring.
Investigators blunt their guns
What we have watched is only a very partial balance sheet of what has come to light. Then there’s the wreck. It consists of companies that have escaped control. As of last December 31, the workforce coordinated by the National Labor Inspectorate was 3,983 units, only 135 more than the previous year. The report draws attention to the fact that “a significant percentage of inspection units, accounting for about 38% of the total”, is intended to carry out “activities other than audit activities” (reconciliations, certifications, etc.) due to a “lack of administrative personnel”. “. In short, resources are what they are. On the other hand, there are quite a number of companies. In 2020 (Istat data) there were more than 4 million active businesses in Italy, but those with more than one employee would be less than half. A real boom in construction companies with super bonuses Not to mention the fact that it is.
In short, the Inspectorate blunted its weapons because there were not enough inspectors to carry out the necessary checks. An example comes from the state of Turin, where in December four out of 200,000 companies were deployed to control security and another 35 to oversee the regularity of employment relations. In practice, one inspector for every 4,000 businesses. Indeed, it should be considered that semi-inspectors often act in pairs. One worker said, “Four technical inspectors have to inspect construction sites, and in all sectors”, “there is a staffing gap that we are trying to fill thanks to new competitions. The problem is that there are a lot of workers who come to work. They leave us because we are not economically attractive. One of the lowest paid we”.
New hires and organization of the institution
Something could happen soon, thanks to the recently announced hiring of 2,580 more to fill the staffing gaps, especially in regional offices. The workforce is expected to exceed 6,500 units, but staffing is apparently slow. As it can be understood from the report cited above, there has not been a significant increase in the number of inspectors, on the contrary, it has remained below 4,000. Few people are willing to fight a plague that we have carried around for decades. And we’ve decided to hide it under the rug until now.
We’ll see if the new resources will really be enough to change the pace. The Labor Inspectorate, born in 2015 by the Renzi government’s Decree No. 149, brought together the inspection staff of the INPS, Inail and the Ministry of Labour. Today the Inspectorate has several tasks: overseeing the regularity of employment contracts and the safety of employees. But also about the payment of contributions and insurance coverage. However, according to various studies, the merger of the units responsible for inspection did not provide effective improvements in the quantity and quality of inspections, but on the contrary, increased bureaucracy. What is certain is that for now, the dish is raging and the number of audited companies is dwindling: we’ve grown from more than 160,000 audited in 2017 to nearly 100,000 in the last three years.
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Source: Today IT
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.
