From the reform of shock absorbers to specific measures for the South, passing through the revision of the rules on hiring and firing, training, tax relief: the document drafted by the Montecitorio Labor Commission suggests a real decalogue on "the labor market between access dynamics and development factors" .
The document comes at the end of a long series of hearings aimed at a "modern" approach to labor policies. An indispensable premise is the awareness that "the economic crisis that has hit all the advanced economies has made the critical issues of the labor market in our country even more evident", creating a dual market where insiders-workers with more stable positions and guaranteed- and the outsiders – workers with weak contracts and fewer guarantees.
– The starting point, therefore, is "proceed rapidly with a profound reform of the system of social safety nets, which by now appears obsolete and unsuitable for responding to the new needs of an increasingly dual market".
– And since here "flexible contracts have fallen into a context where the discipline of open-ended contracts is set up in very rigid terms", it follows that we must arrive "to mitigate the rigidity of open-ended contracts".
– Another "important leverage" could be a "significant extension" of the trial period (or the introduction of other soft entry tools)
– Recognizing that "continuity of income remains an essential value", it is necessary to avoid the trap of the "regulatory shortcut", as if the laws created new jobs, when instead "it is the growth of the economy that plays a role important".
– The document of the Labor commission of the Chamber does not hide that there are phenomena of abuse and avoidance (such as project contracts, convenient VAT numbers, the use of apprenticeships to meet seasonal needs), and precisely for this urges to enhance and support employment agencies and activate tools to counter widespread irregularities (such as the introduction of the crime of illegal hiring).
– An important chapter is then the strengthening of school guidance and university placement services and the enhancement of synergies between schools, universities and training institutions and the world of work. And in this context "the creation of local observatories of professional needs could be very useful for the analysis of the labor market in the various territorial contexts".
– And since it is recognized that "self-employment plays an essential role in affecting employment levels", then "we could think of reducing the tax burden for young companies, possibly offset by the reduction of the enormous amount of direct transfers to companies.
– For the South, the document of the Labor Commission notes that “the South perhaps needs a different approach, which takes note of the existing gap” and therefore to imagine “selective policies. Advantageous policies with regard to taxation, for example, could be an important driving force for the economic recovery of the south".
– Finally, a topic at the center of a lively debate: "it would be useful to review, at least on an experimental basis, the rules on the termination of the employment relationship". And the possibility is proposed for companies operating in the south, in the event of a dismissal that is not of a discriminatory nature, of protection of a purely compensatory nature.
