Matteo Renzi's Jobs Act could be a representation in two acts. The first would be at no cost, the second would instead provide a paid show. The premier, in front of the House and the Senate, had promised reforms, but without going into details. Details that now seem to arrive, albeit in dribs and drabs, after the summit between Undersecretary Graziano Delrio and the Ministers of Economy and Labor Pier Carlo Padoan and Giuliano Poletti. In the coming days, a framework of new rules for the labor market could in fact arrive that do not need resources, such as the insertion contract and the extension of the duration for fixed-term contracts without the need for a causal (from 1 to 3 years) , while the interventions that need financial coverage will start at a later time. The latter category includes the cut in the tax wedge and the extension of unemployment benefits to collaborators.
Proxies will soon be given to the undersecretaries, with a first meeting scheduled for Wednesday. Then, within 15 days, Renzi assures that there will be an intervention. Given the tight deadlines, the only possible move seems to be the definition of a general plan on market regulation.
One of the most eagerly awaited measures is that of the unemployment allowance. The Pd's Jobs Act aims to introduce a universal subsidy with a maximum duration of two years, also extended to collaborators. The operation, according to the first estimates of the technicians, could cost 9,5 billion euros a year. The 7,1 billion euros disbursed for Aspi (the former unemployment benefit) and mini-Aspi benefits and the 2,4 billion spent annually for shock absorbers in derogation would be used, the cancellation of which would accelerate compared to the 2016 deadline established by the Fornero law. The grant would be structured on the basis of contributions, with more flexible access requirements than the current ones.
At the moment the Aspi introduced by the Fornero law on work can only be requested by employees (and not by collaborators) who lose their jobs for reasons beyond their control. For 2014, the maximum duration is 8 months for people under 50 (it will increase to 10 months in 2015), 12 months for people between 50 and 55 and 14 for those over 55.
