The government's 'inclusion wage'
benefit for the poor is the "first step" against poverty in
Italy, Premier Paolo Gentiloni said in signing a memorandum of
understanding on the new measure Friday.
"Today is a first result, and it is the first time that Italy
passes a universal instrument," he said.
Gentiloni said the recent economic crisis had left 1.5
million poor families in Italy.
The 'inclusion wage' will be given to some two million
people, Gentiloni said, adding that it was "a commitment for
dignity and freedom from want".
Gentiloni signed the memorandum of understanding with the
Alliance against Poverty (ACP) and Labour Minister Giuliano
Poletti.
Explaining the main points of the agreement, ACO spokesman
Roberto Rossini said "there are two underlying objectives: the
first identifies the criteria to determine access to the measure
and establishes the amount of benefit, while the second defines
the instruments necessary to create real processes of social
inclusion at a local level".
Some 4.5 million Italians were in "absolute poverty" in 2015,
national statistics agency ISTAT said Friday.
This figure was relatively steady compared to 2014, ISTAT
said.
Additionally, the statistics office said, some 8.3 million
Italians were in conditions of "relative poverty".
The government has just passed a supplementary budget package
that aims to lift families out of poverty, also via the
so-called 'inclusion wage' benefit.
The government's recently approved economic blueprint, the
DEF, sees 1.2 billion euros set aside this year and 1.7
billion in 2018 for the fight on poverty.
The DEF outlines three areas of intervention: the so-called
inclusion income benefit, the universal economic support for
households in poverty, which will replace another system and
extend its reach to 1.77 million people, and a reorganisation of
the benefits.
In other economic news Friday, Italy's public debt fell to
2,24 trillion euros in February, the Bank of Italy said in a new
report.
It was a 10.7-billion-euro-drop compared to February, the
central bank said.
Italy's public debt, at more than 133% of GDP, is the
second-largest in GDP terms the eurozone after Greece's.
Italy's per capita GDP is 4.5% lower than the EU average and
lower than Germany's by 23.6% and France's by 9.2%, ISTAT said.
But it is is 5% higher than Spain's, the statistics office
said.
Successive governments have been trying to boost growth and
have tried to steer the EU away from austerity policies and
towards expansive policies.
Italian productivity registered an umpteenth fall in 2016,
dropping by 1.6%, ISTAT went on.
Productivity has been flat in recent years and has risen by
just 0.3% in the last 20 years, it said.
The Italian economy is still struggling to generate pace out
of Italy's longest postwar slump.
The present Gentiloni government has passed several budget
measures aimed at stoking growth.
Italy is top in Europe for the number of young people not in
education, employment or training (NEETs), at 2.2 million of
15-29-year-olds, ISTAT also said.
ISTAT added that Italy still has "too few university
graduates and too many drop-outs", leaving it far away from the
EU averages in these categories.
Italy is fourth-last in Europe for spending on education,
ISTAT said.
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