Italian companies gathered at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome for the annual meeting of Confindustria, the last one led by the current president Carlo Bonomi, whose mandate began in May 2020, in the midst of the Covid emergency, and will expire in May 2024.
Also present were the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, welcomed upon his arrival by a standing ovation. For the first time the Head of State accepted the industrialists' invitation, speaking to the Assembly with a speech on constitutional values. The reason is soon to be said. The meeting is held on a particular day: the International Day of Democracy and this year it is celebrated on 75th anniversary of the Italian Constitution.
Also in the audience were the presidents of the Chamber and Senate, Lorenzo Fontana and Ignazio La Russa, and the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Bonomi: “The Head of State remains guarantor of the Constitution”
“We are among those who believe that, in a system like ours, which correctly aspires to greater government stability, the Head of State must continue to be the guarantor of the Constitution”, stated Carlo Bonomi in his report. Then, addressing the President of the Republic directly, he said: "We are certain that you will continue to make your firm and inspired voice heard to protect the principles of our Democracy, in support of the international choices made freely by Italy, for the observance and for the implementation of citizens' rights, starting from the most vulnerable".
Bonomi: “The minimum wage does not solve the problem of poor labor
Returning to issues closer to businesses, the president of Confindustria stated that the Association "remains convinced that the mere introduction of a minimum salary legal, not accompanied by a set of measures aimed at enhancing representation, not would solve neither the great question of poor labor, neither the scourge of contractual dumping, nor would it give greater strength to collective bargaining", continued Bonomi, underlining that "the Constitution obliges us to give workers a fair wage" and this function "is entrusted to bargaining". The industry, he points out, "over the last twenty years has had remuneration dynamics that are far superior to the rest of the economy".
Bonomi: “Clear and simple rules are needed on workplace safety”
“The protection of safety at work presupposes clear and simple rules and is based on prevention,” said the president of Confindustria after the various accidents, including that of Brandizzo, which occurred in recent weeks. Bonomi recalled the "collective agreements" which provide for "full application of health and safety regulations".
“Our vision – the only one that makes sense to us – is that it is necessary to avoid accidents by enhancing a participatory logic – he declared – a logic that unites in actions and related responsibilities, not that divides and opposes, a legacy of old antagonisms classy."
Bonomi, “No comment on Manovra and Pnrr, but reforms are needed”
Opening his report, Bonomi began: “Also for this annual assembly of ours, in continuity with the choice made last year, as guests in the Vatican in the presence of His Holiness Pope Francis, we have decided not to express our observations on the state of the economy , on the Pnrr, or on the budget maneuver that is approaching".
In another passage, the number one industrialist said: "Confindustria deeply hopes for reforms that link governability and the ability to give voice and representation to the many demands of civil society". Then, addressing the political forces: “Be careful not to make the same mistake as always. Avoid planning interventions on the form of State and on the form of government developed and inspired by a divisive dialectic, alien by definition from seriousness, with which to propose and judge institutional systems so relevant for the democracy and freedom of our country. I don't think this appeal comes from businesses alone at all."
“We must improve the inclusiveness of the labor market, especially towards young people and women, and guarantee the full realization of the rights we set out. It is not enough to introduce obligations by law, coherent interventions and policies are needed", added Bonomi, recalling the Constitution and arguing that "now we need a course correction" capable of "promoting all the conditions for the right to work to be effective". Industrial policies and labor policies are needed to "create a market in which fair competition and competitiveness are essential values".
Mattarella: “Don't ride your fears”
“If there is something that a democracy cannot afford, it is to inspire its behaviour, that of the authorities, that of the citizens, on purely cyclical feelings. With the prevalence of inertia or impulses of anxiety, of fear." These are the words with which the President of the Republic opened his speech at the Confindustria assembly. The Head of State warned of the possible mistakes not to be made when faced with the challenges that life presents us: "a reaction made of obsessive repetition of topics" without "searching for solutions". “Or – even worse – give in to fears, if not to the cynical temptation to ride them,” he added.
Mattarella: “The Constitution is against predatory capitalism”
“Companies are at the center of a system of values, not just economic ones. It is you who remind me, too, that the company has responsibilities that go beyond the boundaries of its women and its men and, I add, of its markets", said Mattarella, adding that: "Businesses are vehicles for growth, innovation, training, culture, integration, multiplication of influence, soft-power factor. And they are also agents of freedom. Generating wealth is an important social function. It is one of the first social responsibilities of the company. Naturally, not to the detriment of other riches, individual or collective." “It is not predatory capitalism that the Constitution aims at when it defines the rules of the game. The principle is not that of the concentration of wealth but of its diffusion. We know the model: it is the one that made Italy and Europe grow."
"They go reject pressures of unjustified hegemony of the institutions in the management of the rules or, on the contrary, of entrepreneurial pseudo-absolutism, perhaps conveyed by the new giants of “Over the top” who often claim to be "legibus soluti", underlines the Head of State: "Democracy and the market - writes Martin Wolf in his latest book - have the idea of equality in common and both contribute to its implementation".
Mattarella: "Young people go abroad due to the poverty of the salary offers"
After quoting Luigi Einaudi and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Head of State spoke about young people and their - difficult - relationship with the job market: "Democracy is embodied in a thousand places of work and study. In the work and reflection of the intermediate social bodies of the Republic. In the recognition of social rights. In the freedom of citizens to undertake. Before any other factor, what drives progress is, in fact, the 'social capital' that a country has at its disposal. A capital that we cannot impoverish. It is a responsibility that also challenges the business world: too many young people are looking for work abroad, due to the poverty of the offers available salaries".
“What is a fundamental principle of democracy? Avoid concentration of powerto guarantee everyone's freedom. This applies to institutions. This applies to businesses, about which we can talk about competition within a free market. And the fight against monopolies represents an important chapter. The business is an intermediate formation in our society, a social body of those referred to by the Constitution which contribute to the purposes defined by it, contributing to the satisfaction of needs", added Mattarella.
The President of the Republic also dedicated part of his reflection to safety on work: “The market economy does not call into question constitutionally relevant values, such as respect for human dignity and the duty of solidarity. Or the art. 35, relating to labor protection, 36, on working conditions, or 37 on working women. First of all, it is the issue of safety at work that challenges everyone's conscience, before anything else. Democracy is respect for the rules, starting with those at work."
