German Labour Minister Andrea
Nahles on Monday praised the Italian government's efforts at
reform.
"We have respect and admiration for the commitment to
reform" of the administration of Premier Matteo Renzi, said the
minister and Social Democratic Party (SPD) lawmaker.
"It's incredible to see how many efforts have already been
made," Nahles told a conference on youth employment, which she
attended with her Italian counterpart, Giuliano Poletti.
Renzi's proposed Jobs Act, or labour market reform bill,
has been criticized as wanting to recreate the German model,
while scaling back legal protections that German workers enjoy.
One of his biggest critics, former Democratic Party (PD)
chief Pier Luigi Bersani, blasted him earlier on Monday.
"Renzi says we have few employed and too many unemployed,
so let's get rid of Article 18 (of the 1970 Workers Statute).
Germany has high employment, and they have Article 18," Bersani
said in an interview.
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