Susanna Camusso, the head of
Italy's largest trade union federation CGIL, on Friday accused
Premier Matteo Renzi of being a Thatcherite as a big row over
the government's labour reforms rumbled on.
A key measure in the government's Jobs Act would
effectively change a landmark jobs protection regulation -
Article 18 of the 1970 Workers Stature guaranteeing people
unjustly sacked the right to their job back - for new hires.
The government says this regulation discourages firms from
offering workers regular, steady contracts as it makes it very
hard from them to get ride rid of a staff member once on the
books.
This has been blamed for high unemployment levels,
especially among young people, and the fact that most new
entrants to the job market are hired on freelance or temporary
contracts that give few rights and low job security.
But the unions are outraged by the proposed change and
there is the danger of a rift opening within Renzi's centre-left
Democratic Party (PD) over the issue.
"Renzi is a little too focused on the Margaret Thatcher
model (of labor reform)," said Camusso, whose leftwing union
traditionally has strong ties with the PD.
"We are defending ourselves, because those who would
abolish Article 18 are abolishing workers' freedom.
"We believe Workers Statute reform is possible, but by
making sure everyone has the same rights and the same full-time,
permanent contracts".
Article 18 states that workers unjustly fired must be
reinstated.
Under the change the government is proposing, newly hired
workers would be given compensation, instead of being rehired,
if a court rules they were unjustly dismissed - unless
discrimination was the reason for the sacking.
The change would not apply to workers currently employed
on regular open-ended contracts.
PD Deputy Secretary Debora Serracchiani said Friday that,
while provisions for worker reinstatement are not now included
in the government's Jobs Act, they could be added in later
versions.
But Serracchiani, who is also the governor of the
Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, added that labour legislation in
Italy needs to be updated to reflect a reality that is
"radically different than that of the 1970s" and "to simplify a
system that has a crazy rigidity".
She added that labour reforms have been unanimously
approved by PD members on the Senate labor committee, adding
"the situation is an extraordinary emergency".
The PD's economic pointman, Filippo Taddei, said that the
government is aiming to get an enabling law on labour-market
reform passed by October 8 as a "signal" to the EU and is not
going to ram the measures through by decree.
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