The extension to blocking of layoffs for economic reasons, expiring on March 31, 2021, is taken for granted. The same goes for the Cig Covid, paid entirely by the state and also expiring at the end of next month. The extension of the two measures could be short-lived (1-2 months), but at the moment the most likely hypothesis is that at the end of June. However, the same deadline does not necessarily apply to all sectors.
3 REFORMS: SHOCK ABSORBERS, ACTIVE POLICIES, PENSIONS
The new Minister of Labour, Andrea Orlando, meets today with the representatives of Confindustria, after Sunday's summit with the trade unions. By the end of the month, the deputy secretary of the Democratic Party will make a new round of tables to present a draft of reform of social safety nets. After that, two more crucial interventions will be discussed later:
- the strengthening of active employment policies: in addition to a new push on training and retraining, the relocation allowance, reintroduced from 2021 for layoffs and the unemployed in Naspi, needs to be implemented;
- la pension reform: expansion and solidarity contracts to facilitate reaching retirement age, together with a strengthening of the Ape sociale in view of the end of 100 quota, which will expire on December 31st and will not be renewed.
Even if the details are still to be defined, the goal is clear: to use the new months of extension of Cig Covid and layoffs block to set up a safety net to be used later. Those who lose their jobs starting from the summer months (we are talking about 250 jobs at risk) will be able to count on new tools to retrain and relocate, or to get closer to retirement.
THE POSITION OF CONFINDUSTRIA…
The first problem to face, however, remains the immediate emergency: everyone knows that we need to buy more time, but come on like to do so there is no agreement between the social partners. Confindustria asks to selectively extend the freeze on layoffs, only for sectors in crisis and for companies closed by the government as an anti-contagion function. The caveat is clear: if businesses are tied for too long, then many will no longer be able to restructure and will have to close.
…AND THAT OF THE TRADE UNIONS
The unions, on the contrary, are asking that the block on layoffs and the Cig Covid be extended without distinction for all economic sectors. It would be too difficult - is the reasoning - to distinguish companies that are really at risk from those that could get away with their own efforts, above all because many supply chains are interdependent. What could be the point of collapse of the negotiation is not yet clear, but the fact that the Cig Covid is free for businesses guarantees quite reassuring room for manoeuvre.
THE PROPOSAL INHERITED FROM THE CONTE GOVERNMENT 2
For now, a proposal bequeathed by the Giallorossi government is on the table. The former Minister of Labor, Nunzia Catalfo, had imagined this scheme: another 8 weeks of Cig Covid (with the prohibition of firing for those who use them) in the industrial sector, and 26 weeks for the sectors covered by the Cig notwithstanding and by the ordinary cheque, the latter to be used by December 31 of this year. Companies that will not ask for these treatments, but have used them in the past, will not be able to pay social security contributions. Finally, the project included a further allowance for workers in the entertainment industry, the self-employed without a VAT number, seasonal and intermittent workers.
