The OECD puts the spotlight on the public administration of the Member States, and the the Italian situation outlined is really not very reassuring. Aging employees, overpaid executives and widespread dissatisfaction on the part of citizens. This is what emerges from the "Government at a Glance" report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The study analyzes different factors that characterize the social, political and economic scenario of a country. As for the public workforce, in 2015 Italy was the country with the highest percentage of employees aged over 55 in the public administration (45% against an average of 24%) and the lowest proportion (2%) of young people aged between 18 and the 34-year-olds who work for the central government.
The figure, according to the OECD report, is worrying. In fact, it is necessary for Italy to plan its workforce intelligently and carefully, to avoid that the massive retirement of employees does not lead to a “loss of institutional memory”, which would lead to a lower level of quality of public services.
Analyzing the numbers relating to salary levels, even here Italy does not occupy a privileged position. In 2015, Italian senior managers (the highest executives of the PA) earned - gross - an annual fee equal to 395.400 dollars, the highest in the OECD only after Australia, against an average of $231.500. And the discussion does not stop only at the highest offices. Even for the duties of secretary the Italian PA is more generous than the OECD average. Everything is reversed when it comes to professional fees (public employees with technical skills), who earn almost 20 thousand euros less than the OECD average, 67.900 against 88.700 dollars.
Surprise, unfortunately still negative, even i times of Italian justice compared to international standards. In fact, in our country it takes, on average, more 2 and a half years for administrative cases, against the 4 months of Sweden.
Obviously, the situation described above can only be little appreciated by citizens. In 2016, according to the OECD report, only 49% of Italians interviewed in surveys declared themselves satisfied with public services. Mistrust in health services, education and the justice system. There trust in the national government in 2015 it dropped from 30 to 24%. It is lower only in Chile and Greece. Well yes, all this is very little reassuring.
