“Work is inextricably linked to the person, to their dignity, to their social dimension, to the contribution that everyone can and must make to participation in the life of society. Work is not a commodity“. These are the words pronounced by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in a speech in Calabria on the eve of Workers Day. The Head of State defined accidents and deaths at work as "unacceptable", also defining the unions as "irrepressible interlocutors.
Mattarella: “Work is freedom”
"Work is freedom. First of all, freedom from need; and a tool to express oneself, to realize oneself in life", said the president. “The extraordinary progress of science and technology to improve the quality and sustainability of products and services must always be aimed at protecting the integrity of people and their rights. From right to work. Work must be free from conditioning, imbalances and abuses that create marginalization and therefore represent the opposite of its role and meaning. Factors that represent serious impediments to the progress of the entire society" underlined the President of the Republic.
“Tomorrow is May Day. Labour day. Therefore Republic Day, which the constituents wanted to base precisely on work. As the first proponent of this formula, Fanfani, said to the Constituent Assembly, 'founded not on privilege, not on the effort of others': it is founded on everyone's work. It's a basic element of our democratic identity” underlined the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. “It is not just a reference to the values of freedom and equality – he added – but the indication of a living social model, projected towards cohesion and solidarity”.
Mattarella on deaths at work: "We cannot accept this drip"
Among the topics covered by the Head of State, also deaths at work, a topic "for which a determined and effective commitment is necessary". The "contrast to the scourge of accidents at work", he said, is "a priority issue". We cannot "accept the continuous dripping of deaths, caused by carelessness, imprudence, risks that should not have been taken." And he reiterates: “A thousand deaths at work in one year represent an unimaginable tragedy. Each of them is unacceptable."
Mattarella: "The data on employment is good, but the social elevator appears to be jammed."
“Employment data recorded significant growth overall. The positive trend concerns a large part of Europe, Italy first and foremost, and this is a source of great satisfaction for all of us. It is good news that jobs have increased, and also permanent contracts. It is too growth of female employment. Of course we must not forget the social and territorial disparities that persist; the excluded; the phenomenon of precarious and underpaid jobs. The low level of pay of young people's first entry into the world of work, which induces many of them to go abroad under better conditions".
“The difficulties of those who endure one endure disability, the weight of the burden of care which often pushes even families of those who have a job into need. The positive indicators of the economic situation must encourage us to intelligently continue in the direction of economic growth based on equity and cohesion" specified the head of state.
However, the "institutions at every level, and with them all the economic and social actors" must never "feel satisfied until full good employment is achieved", is the warning from Mattarella who recalled how “the social elevator which makes ours an open and free society" has for some time "appeared to be blocked, a season in which the starting conditions determine distances that are not easily recoverable, to the detriment of young people who come from weaker social conditions".
Mattarella: “Unions are irrepressible interlocutors”
“In republican history since comparison between institutions and social partners important pushes have arrived for progress, for the definition and diffusion of rights, for the modernization of businesses themselves. The intermediate bodies are a characterizing element of the design of our Constitution and bring benefits to Italy. The trade union movement - bearer of democratic values - is irrepressible interlocutor for the development of fruitful collective, sector and company bargaining" underlined the Head of State.
Mattarella against gangmastering and the exploitation of migrants
The President of the Republic has issued a strong warning against gangmastering and the exploitation of migrants. “The issue of immigration has a great impact on the agricultural supply chain. Migrant workers are an essential part of agricultural production and the subsequent transformation of its products. But, in some cases, gray areas of work - which border on illegality, exploitation or even take advantage of it - generate injustice and, furthermore, insecurity, tensions, conflicts. And they offer spaces to criminal organizations. Supervision is, therefore, a specific duty. On delinquent forms of gangmastering. On the inhuman conditions into which, in some cases, seasonal workers are thrown, sometimes without names or identities".
