Cabinet approves anti-poverty bill

(ANSA) - Rome, January 28 - Cabinet on Thursday approved bills to fight poverty and protect freelance workers. "We have established a national measure to fight poverty (and) an essential level of services rendered - that is, a right," said Labor Minister Giuliano Poletti of the bill that would affect 280,000 families and 580,000 children.
    "It is based on the principle of active inclusion (and) a two-pronged approach - income support and a lifting of burdens so that families in conditions of poverty can leave that condition behind". The new welfare package is meant to help families leave poverty behind for good - so it is not a "stable and permanent" measure, he said. The bill on freelance workers "increases protections in commercial transactions and protects freelancers from 'noose-like' contracts they can't escape," Poletti explained. The bill will fight "illegal clauses and conducts," he said.