Istat data on the employment rate in Italy attest to a recovery after years of difficulties. In these first months of work, the government launched a series of measures to support employment and, at the same time, try to fight inflation. The first package of measures was launched on May 1st during a Council of Ministers that was heavily criticized by the unions and the opposition. In this decree-law, in addition to the reform of the basic income, the partial exemption of the share of social security contributions for disability, old age and survivors paid by employed workers for the salary periods from 1 July to 31 December 2023; the increase in the limit of additional benefits to 3 thousand euros in 2023 for employees with dependent children was also confirmed.
To boost youth employment, the decree provides for incentives equal to 60% of salary over a period of 12 months in favor of employers that hire young people under 30 who are not part of training programs and enrolled in the Pon «Initiative for Employment Young”. The incentive can be combined with the contribution exemption up to a limit of 100% for a maximum period of 36 months. A modification on fixed-term employment contracts was also included in the text. Indeed, the reasons that can be indicated in contracts lasting between 12 and 24 months have been changed to allow for a more flexible use for this specific type of contract. It will be possible to extend the deadlines up to two years: in the cases provided for in the collective agreements, due to technical, organizational or production needs identified by the parties, in case of non-compliance with the collective agreement and in any case within the deadline of December 31, 2024 or to replace other workers.
Under 30s, fixed-term contracts, but also workers with disabilities. The text provides for the recognition of entities and organizations of a contribution for each person with a disability hired on a permanent basis between 1 August 2022 and 31 December 2023. The quantitative limits on the use of temporary staff and the quantitative are eliminated in the case of permanent contracts for specific categories of workers. The exemption from compliance with the quantitative limits for the use of outsourced personnel extends to the hypothesis in which the employee is hired by the employer with an employment relationship for an indefinite period.
Added to this is the “Made in Italy” bill approved by the Council of Ministers two days ago. Among the various measures, it foresees a fund of 10 million euros that will be used to strengthen self-entrepreneurship and female entrepreneurship initiatives. The Italian sovereign fund was also born, which bears the name of the National Strategic Fund Made in Italy with an initial endowment of 1 billion euros aimed at stimulating the growth and consolidation of national strategic supply chains.
Not only. There is a law that aims to create a “bridge” between training and work. The made in Italy secondary school, whose school year will begin in 2024, is accompanied by the “Businesses and skills for made in Italy” foundation. In order to facilitate the transfer of skills, retired workers will come into play as tutors for newly hired employees under 30. The program provides for tutoring, per retiree, with a maximum duration of 12 months, without subordination conditions and not subject to the regime of redundancies. Among other things, it is foreseen that the guardian’s remuneration does not contribute to the formation of income for the purposes of Irpef and is not subject to social security contributions of up to 15 thousand euros per year. A kind of “generational pact” in which retirees will teach the trade to newly hired young people.
The tourist season has begun and Minister Santanchè, faced with the shortage of seasonal workers, already 50,000 vacancies for this year alone, proposed a measure to encourage those who go to work at night and on holidays. The sector has suffered for years from a “progressive disaffection” of traditional workers, but also from a lower ability to attract young people who prefer stable jobs that allow them to better manage their free time. But as the Confindustria hotels recall: “As it is not possible to change the nature of the activity, it is necessary to resort to corrective interventions aimed at boosting that component of the work with tax reduction or deduction oriented towards weekend increases or night work” . And it is no coincidence that the minister’s idea goes precisely in that direction, with the aim of increasing the wages of those who work at night or on holidays without harming business. Even Giorgia Meloni, during the Trento Festival of Economics, reiterated that she believes that “cutting taxes on work in relation to the legal minimum wage” is much more useful.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
