The meeting at Palazzo Chigi between the Prime Minister Mario Draghi and sindacati on further measures to be taken to support families, he was "positive", as defined by the social partners and the prime minister himself at the press conference. “It is time to implement structural measures to increase net wages, starting with the reduction of the tax wedge,” Draghi said. As for fibrillation within the majority, by the M5s but also of the League, Draghi was clear: “the government with an ultimatum does not work and makes no sense”, reiterating, “there is no government without the M5s and there is no Draghi government other than the current one. Ask Mattarella for the rest, he is the one who decides the referral to the Chambers ”, the president cut short.
The Government, for its part, has undertaken to launch by the end of the month a new aid decree for August to mitigate the effects of the energy price increase, but without budget variance. "The areas are similar to those already dealt with in the past, bills, excise duties on petrol and diesel, but also interventions proportionate to the wealth and income of the individual," said the prime minister without providing figures. On this there will be a new meeting with the social partners before the launch of the decree-law, between 26 and 27 July.
Draghi then recalled all the government interventions: “We have already done a lot for families and businesses with interventions worth 33 billion. Figures that once consisted of one or two budget maneuvers while now they are to mitigate prices for the most fragile".
Draghi: "Yes to the social pact, interventions on the tax wedge and minimum wage"
“In recent months I had hoped for a new social contract”, continued Draghi at the press conference, “to manage the phase we are going through and will go through in the coming months. The aim of the pact is the continuation of growth and the protection of purchasing power for workers, retirees and families. The Italian economy continues to grow but the forecasts are full of risks, first of all the increase in the cost of living. At the moment we are doing better than expected, but inflation is eroding purchasing power and increasing the costs of businesses, especially in manufacturing”.
The government is ready to intervene decisively on the “tax wedge for workers starting from the lowest wages thanks to the spaces in public finance", announced the Prime Minister, adding however that it is important "to avoid triggering a spiral of price-wage increases. The ECB and all central banks look at this. But in our case the cost of labor is very low, very low compared to the past and to other European countries. Our measures are all compatible with anti-inflationary policies”.
The intervention will also concern the minimum salary, adds Draghi: "Another question was to prepare a salary that applies to those who are not covered by collective agreements and who therefore live in a situation of great precariousness". And on expired collective agreements "it is not acceptable", warned the former number one of the ECB.
“We have to take action to promote employment to fight against inequalities and to do this we need to be together: we need the full involvement of the government with the social partners", continued Draghi, confirming the commitments made this morning in the meeting with the trade unions: "we are planning meetings on a series of issues , energy above all, the transformation of important productive sectors, such as automotive and steel, then the Pnrr, on which there is a permanent table but we want to make it more active and important, and then the Budget law. But also a table on precariousness, in the light of the latest data that has emerged in recent days".
Draghi-union meeting: the positions of Sbarra, Landini and Bombardieri
"A positive meeting, potentially decisive", defined the secretary of the CISL, Luigi Barra, adding that “The government is committed to a structured and permanent dialogue with the social partners” also “to manage emergencies. The government expects to decide before the summer break on wages, pensions and household income". And that the executive “doesn't rule out working on a new social pact that looks at the funds of the Pnrr, on industrial and environmental policy” concluded Sbarra.
But Landini (CGIL) is more cautious
The CGIL leader is more cautious Maurizio Landini: “The Government has announced that it intends to make a provision within the month of July – he confirmed – but we do not know the contents. Numbers there were made. We stopped at topics such as the defense of purchasing power, precariousness, the minimum wage”. However, Landini appreciated "the climate of listening" in the relationship with the social partners.
Bombardieri calls for structural interventions
“On the emergency bills, wages and pensions we have asked the Government to intervene immediately. We need to detax contractual increases and second-level bargaining and increase the net payroll". he asked Pierpaolo Bombardieri, general secretary of the UIL.
Union demands
Faced with the Government's willingness to intervene "in the short term" to combat inflation, the social partners have put forward theirs proposals: the cut in excise taxes on fuel, the enlargement of the beneficiaries of subsidies on bills and the 200 euro bonus for precarious and self-employed workers, the possibility of allocating the tax wedge cuts only to workers, of detaxing second-level bargaining as well as increase the taxation of extra profits for energy companies.
