The Government has decided to raise the white flag: to avoid the referendum called by the CGIL on vouchers, a decree is about to be passed which completely cancels the instrument, perhaps reserving its use to families only. A victory for the more reactionary forces of the union which, for abstractly ideological reasons combined with the concrete intentions of a policy of power and prestige, destroy a useful tool for getting a series of marginal jobs out of the "black", or favoring the occasional employment of pensioners or young students.
The CGIL battle on vouchers is based on a real falsification of reality. From the INPS data it is clear that almost 70% of the recipients of these vouchers are pensioners or people who have another job, and it is estimated that about 60% of voucher recipients were snatched from black and therefore they were able to enjoy a minimum of social protection. Finally, on average, the sums received by these workers are around 4-5 thousand euros per year, ie less than the ceiling of 7 thousand euros set by current regulations. Certainly it is not excluded that some abuse may have occurred, especially in agriculture or in commerce and tourism, given the proverbial Italian cunning. However, the traceability recently introduced by the Renzi Government seems to have contained the problem, and in any case further refinements could always be made to the tool which proves to be useful for bringing out a series of small occasional jobs from illegality and probably makes it easier to employ personnel which otherwise would not have been taken up by small companies.
And then why important political and social forces are engaged in such a marginal and absurd battle? To understand this, we must remember that the referendum proposed by the CGIL were three and that by far the most important was related to the abolition of the reform of article 18 carried out by the jobs act. In short, according to the CGIL it was necessary not only to fully restore the reinstatement but also to extend it to companies with up to 5 employees. The real intent was to take revenge on Renzi who had repeatedly humiliated the union by sending the concertation to the attic and making fun of the CGIL's vetoes on social and labor issues. In this way Camusso and his companions would have regained a decisive weight within the PD and reaffirmed their historical supremacy over the other workers' organizations, in particular the CISL. But the Constitutional Court did not consider the question on Article 18 admissible and therefore now the CGIL finds itself having to wage a battle by focusing on vouchers and solidarity in the procurement regime between all the companies in the supply chain. To mobilize the masses it is therefore necessary to charge these tools with all possible negativity, affirming that they stimulate the precariousness while most of these jobs will certainly not be transformed into stable jobs, but will probably slip into the black, or will be completely cancelled.
Ma the political problem is the government's unconditional and ignominious surrender. After the referendum of 4 December, the old regime is being restored in all respects, a regime which, let us remember, is responsible for the country's economic and social stagnation. Gentiloni and the Democratic Party feared that the crowd of everyone, from Salvini to Bersani, passing through Grillo, would reform on this referendum, to give a new blow to Renzi and his reformist ambitions. But it is a very dangerous choice. The forces of restoration will not stop there. Indeed, emboldened by the victory, they will find other lands on which to consume their revenge. Wouldn't it have been better to try to stop this bold Brancaleone army, accepting the challenge of the referendum on an easily defensible issue such as that of vouchers, and still hoping for the probable failure to reach the quorum? Renzi and Gentiloni should know that by dint of strategic retreats there is the risk of being thrown back into the sea.
