Italy plans national minimum wage
Italy is planning to introduce a national minimum wage as part of its labour market overhaul, although the level is yet to be established.
The country is mulling setting the wage at €6.30 or €7 an hour, with the details set to be woven into the so-called Jobs Act and addressed by the cabinet over the next few weeks, Corriere reported.
The wage would only apply to those working in sectors whose salaries are not already regulated by a "national contract", an employment contract that applies to specific categories of workers.
Italy is one of a handful of EU countries, including Denmark, Cyprus, Austria and Sweden, that does not have a minimum wage in place.
Germany’s first ever minimum wage, set at €8.50 per hour, was introduced on January 1st.
But the move will face pressure from Italy’s unions, who argue that the collective bargaining agreements between unions and employers at industry level already set a minimum wage.
The agreements, however, only cover 80 percent of workers, according to figures from the database of the Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS).
The unions, which held several strikes against the Jobs Act late last year because they felt it would give workers less protection, would have to be consulted about the measure, Corriere said.
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The country is mulling setting the wage at €6.30 or €7 an hour, with the details set to be woven into the so-called Jobs Act and addressed by the cabinet over the next few weeks, Corriere reported.
The wage would only apply to those working in sectors whose salaries are not already regulated by a "national contract", an employment contract that applies to specific categories of workers.
Italy is one of a handful of EU countries, including Denmark, Cyprus, Austria and Sweden, that does not have a minimum wage in place.
Germany’s first ever minimum wage, set at €8.50 per hour, was introduced on January 1st.
But the move will face pressure from Italy’s unions, who argue that the collective bargaining agreements between unions and employers at industry level already set a minimum wage.
The agreements, however, only cover 80 percent of workers, according to figures from the database of the Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS).
The unions, which held several strikes against the Jobs Act late last year because they felt it would give workers less protection, would have to be consulted about the measure, Corriere said.
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