Italy tweaks civil service reforms

(ANSA) - Rome, July 2 - Senior civil servants in Italy will run the risk of being laid off if they receive negative reviews under a new reform amendment approved on Thursday, as unions said they were ready to take action against the plans.
    Italy's government aims to streamline the country's unwieldy civil service with the reform package launched last year and create employment for as many as 10,000 young people.
    Public officials who lack a role for a certain period of time and receive a negative review can be laid off under the new amendment.
    In contests for civil service posts, the university a candidate attended will be considered from now on, and not just the grade received upon graduation, in another amendment approved on Thursday.
    Public agency unions said they were ready to take "forceful action" against the reform package by Marianna Madia, Italy's minister for the civil service and simplification.
    The reform "abolishes constitutional rights, centralises decision-making and contributes to the desertification of the regions," representatives of unions Cgil, Cisl and Uil said.
    "We will fight the reform in any way possible," they said.
    Unions also called for a narrowing of the gap between salaries of employees and senior civil-service directors.