[Italy] Minimum wage bill defeated by ruling parties

On December 6, Italy's governing right-wing parties defeated an attempt by the opposition to introduce a minimum wage to bring the country into line with the majority of the EU, Yahoo reports.

Rather than pass the bill, members of parliament voted to give Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government six months to enact measures to make pay in Italy "fairer".

Opposition members reportedly yelled "for shame!" as the bill, which would have established a €9 hourly minimum wage before tax, was quashed.

"You are on the side of the exploiters, you slap the exploited in the face!" Elly Schlein - head of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party - said.

Italy is one of five countries in the European Union - including Austria, Denmark, Finland and Sweden - where wages are determined solely by collective bargaining between employers and trade unions. 

The centre-left put forward its proposal to end "poverty wages" in July. Meloni's coalition, however, argued that it could leave some workers worse off.

The government has reportedly proposed extending collective agreements to around 20 per cent of workers not covered by existing agreements.

But many of them remain significantly below nine euros an hour, such as those for cleaning services (€6.52), catering (€7.28) and tourism (€7.48).

Former prime minister Giuseppe Conte symbolically tore up a copy of the government's bill, to the applause of opposition deputies, as angry protests were heard.

The individuals who voted against the minimum wages "have turned their backs on 3.6 million workers", he said.

Ms Meloni, by contrast, stated that setting a minimum "paradoxically risks lowering wages, because 95 per cent of workers have a higher hourly wage".

"We risk an employer saying 'If I can lower it to nine euros, why do I have to pay more?'", she said.

Italy is the only European country where real wages (excluding inflation) decreased between 1990 and 2020 (-2.9 per cent), according to the OECD.

The EU introduced rules governing the minimum wage in November 2022 but they are reportedly voluntary.

Source: Yahoo

(Quotes via original reporting)

On December 6, Italy's governing right-wing parties defeated an attempt by the opposition to introduce a minimum wage to bring the country into line with the majority of the EU, Yahoo reports.

Rather than pass the bill, members of parliament voted to give Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government six months to enact measures to make pay in Italy "fairer".

Opposition members reportedly yelled "for shame!" as the bill, which would have established a €9 hourly minimum wage before tax, was quashed.

"You are on the side of the exploiters, you slap the exploited in the face!" Elly Schlein - head of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party - said.

Italy is one of five countries in the European Union - including Austria, Denmark, Finland and Sweden - where wages are determined solely by collective bargaining between employers and trade unions. 

The centre-left put forward its proposal to end "poverty wages" in July. Meloni's coalition, however, argued that it could leave some workers worse off.

The government has reportedly proposed extending collective agreements to around 20 per cent of workers not covered by existing agreements.

But many of them remain significantly below nine euros an hour, such as those for cleaning services (€6.52), catering (€7.28) and tourism (€7.48).

Former prime minister Giuseppe Conte symbolically tore up a copy of the government's bill, to the applause of opposition deputies, as angry protests were heard.

The individuals who voted against the minimum wages "have turned their backs on 3.6 million workers", he said.

Ms Meloni, by contrast, stated that setting a minimum "paradoxically risks lowering wages, because 95 per cent of workers have a higher hourly wage".

"We risk an employer saying 'If I can lower it to nine euros, why do I have to pay more?'", she said.

Italy is the only European country where real wages (excluding inflation) decreased between 1990 and 2020 (-2.9 per cent), according to the OECD.

The EU introduced rules governing the minimum wage in November 2022 but they are reportedly voluntary.

Source: Yahoo

(Quotes via original reporting)