A white paper approved by the House
budget committee with new regulations for occasional work
replacing scrapped vouchers is "consistent with the framework we
chose as government," Labour MInister Giuliano Poletti said
Monday.
He said the new instrument was "much more limited" than the
previous one on the widely abused vouchers.
"Vouchers are no more and will not return," he said.
Italy's biggest trade-union confederation, the left-wing
CGIL, disagrees with the government and has threatened to appeal
to the Constitutional Court unless the new measures are
withdrawn.
CGIL chief Susanna Camusso reacted to Poletti's statement by
saying "I don't know if Poletti has done a course of applied
imagination, I don't know what he's talking about...he's passed
a law that scraps vouchers, now they're reintroducing something
in which the only thing different is the name, using, among
other things, a vehicle that embarrasses everyone".
Camusso said Friday the CGIL would appeal to the supreme
court if controversial work vouchers to pay for occasional work
are brought back by the back door.
The CGIL collected enough signatures to trigger a referendum
on scrapping the vouchers, amid reports of widespread abuse of
the system, but Premier Paolo Gentiloni's government scrapped
them completely earlier this year to avert a possibly
acrimonious campaign.
Gentiloni's Democratic Party (PD) has presented a plan to
fill the vacuum left by the end of the vouchers with a
French-style payment booklet and a new contract for occasional
work for small businesses.
"If the vouchers are brought back, as has seemed apparent
over the last few hours, we have said and reiterated that we
will appeal to the Constitutional Court because it would be a
clear injury to the Charter and its rules," Camusso said.
"This instrument is identical to vouchers, but the number of
those who could use it would be bigger".
The issue has caused tension within the ruling alliance, with
the MDP, a left-wing splinter group of the PD, threatening to
leave the governing coalition if the plan comes to fruition.
"I read absurd reconstructions that the PD wants to use the
voucher issue to cause trouble for Gentiloni," said PD Lower
House whip Ettore Rosato.
"We defend the premier and we have always agreed on the line
to follow.
"We are ready to withdraw it (the proposal) if the government
wants".
Relations with Parliament Minister Anna Finocchiaro said
Friday there was no tension between the executive and the PD
over the proposal, which "reflects the will of the executive on
regulating occasional work".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
