"The reintegration of the elderly into the country's social fabric is an increasingly urgent problem to be addressed and we hope that the Government will take a first step in this direction already with the next Budget Law". This was stated by Ernesto Auci, deputy of Civic Choice and president of Firstonline, presenting a motion on the "Active senior citizens" in the Chamber on Wednesday, of which he is the first signatory. Also present was the secretary of SC, Enrico Zanetti.
"It is necessary to take initiatives to enhance the employment of the over 65s" continued Auci, explaining that there are two objectives: "Helping these people to live in health, since inactivity is the first cause of discomfort for many elderly , and to employ this part of the increasingly numerous population in order to increase the productivity of the country”.
In particular, Civic Choice calls for the transfer of skills from the elderly to the younger generations, especially in craft activities, but also in industry and the tertiary sector. The motion also proposes the introduction of facilitations for the employment of the elderly in voluntary work. It would not be a question of real hiring, but of part-time activities to be paid with a reimbursement of expenses.
Auci clarified that the initiative "has nothing to do with raising or lowering the retirement age: we are talking about people who have already retired from work and who, with the prolongation of life expectancy, they can still be useful to society.”
As for the controversies on the generational contrast, "the statements according to which the permanence of the elderly at work would take away places for young people are absolutely not confirmed by economic and social studies - the member of the Civic Choice underlined again - We believe on the contrary that young people could benefit of the greater competitiveness that the elderly would guarantee to the country”.
Finally, "it seems important to us that the Government review the prohibition for pensioners to provide consultancy services in the public sector - concluded Auci - It would be appropriate to be able to use the experience of these individuals, perhaps in non-operational roles and with even a rather low salary ceiling to avoid the unpleasant favoritism of the past”.
According to Carlo Vergani, professor of Geriatrics at the University of Milan, today there are 13 million elderly people in Italy, 22% of the population, but in 2065 there will be six million more, or 33% of the total.
