Today in Italy: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Italy has three million undeclared workers, Milan to release hundreds of new taxi licences, Italian animal rights groups call for EU intervention in bear cullings, and more news from around Italy on Wednesday.
Italy's top news story on Wednesday:
Italy has three million undeclared workers: union head
Around three million people in Italy are working off the books while 40 percent of workers are on precarious contracts, the chief of the UIL workers' union said at an event on Tuesday, citing data from the country's national statistics office.
Speaking at the union's 74th anniversary celebrations in Rome, Pierpaolo Bombardieri said that such figures were "unacceptable for a civilised country", adding that "no one talks about it."
National statistics agency Istat published data in October 2023 showing that Italy had 2.99 million undeclared workers in 2021, compared to 2.07 million in 2020.
Bombardieri said his union would continue to "fight the rules" that lead to worker precarity, including the country's 2015 Jobs Act that made it easier for employers to fire staff.
Milan announces 450 new taxi licences under plans to fix shortage
The northern Italian city of Milan will release 450 new taxi licences in order to address a chronic shortage, it announced on Monday.
Milan's mobility councillor Arianna Censi said at a city council session that the council intended to put out a tender call for the licenses "within a few days," according to Italian news agency Agenzia Nova.
The city has around 500 thousand 'unresolved calls' - that is, people who try and fail to book a taxi - per month, according to a recent report from the Corriere della Sera newspaper. Milan hasn't increased its number of taxi licences since 2003.
The council first said it would introduce the licences back in November, but hadn't provided updates since then. "I believe that issuing new licenses can help, the service is not up to par in this city," Censi said at Monday's meeting.
Animal rights groups call on EU to intervene over Trento ‘anti-bear decree’
Animal rights groups on Tuesday called on European institutions to protect the bear population in the northern province of Trento after local authorities authorised the culling of up to eight “problematic” bears a year in 2024 and 2025.
Italy’s Anti-Vivisection League (LAV) asked Brussels to open an infringement procedure against both the Trento province and the Italian government in relation to the EU Habitats Directive, which prohibits the “deliberate killing” of large carnivores, including bears.
Italian animal rights groups have repeatedly contested the hard line taken by Trento president Maurizio Fugatti in managing the local bear population after a female brown bear killed a 26-year-old jogger in the village of Caldes last April.
According to the latest available data, the Trento province is home to some 110 bears.
Italy prosecutors seek dismissal of rape claim against Canadian film director
Prosecutors have asked a court in Italy to dismiss sexual assault charges against Oscar-winning Canadian director Paul Haggis on the basis of lack of evidence, according to local media reports.
Haggis, 70, who directed and co-wrote the 2004 film Crash and was the screenwriter for the Clint Eastwood film Million Dollar Baby and the Bond films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, had been due to headline the "Allora Fest" film festival in the southern city of Ostuni in June 2022 when a British woman accused him of rape.
He was put under house arrest for over two weeks on suspicion of sexual assault and aggravated personal injury, but a nearby court subsequently ordered his release, saying there were several "contradictions" in the woman's story, according to AFP reports.
In November, a New York jury found Haggis liable for the 2013 rape of a publicist after a civil trial, where he was ordered to pay at least $7.5 million in damages, AFP reported. He did not face criminal charges.
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Italy's top news story on Wednesday:
Italy has three million undeclared workers: union head
Around three million people in Italy are working off the books while 40 percent of workers are on precarious contracts, the chief of the UIL workers' union said at an event on Tuesday, citing data from the country's national statistics office.
Speaking at the union's 74th anniversary celebrations in Rome, Pierpaolo Bombardieri said that such figures were "unacceptable for a civilised country", adding that "no one talks about it."
National statistics agency Istat published data in October 2023 showing that Italy had 2.99 million undeclared workers in 2021, compared to 2.07 million in 2020.
Bombardieri said his union would continue to "fight the rules" that lead to worker precarity, including the country's 2015 Jobs Act that made it easier for employers to fire staff.
Milan announces 450 new taxi licences under plans to fix shortage
The northern Italian city of Milan will release 450 new taxi licences in order to address a chronic shortage, it announced on Monday.
Milan's mobility councillor Arianna Censi said at a city council session that the council intended to put out a tender call for the licenses "within a few days," according to Italian news agency Agenzia Nova.
The city has around 500 thousand 'unresolved calls' - that is, people who try and fail to book a taxi - per month, according to a recent report from the Corriere della Sera newspaper. Milan hasn't increased its number of taxi licences since 2003.
The council first said it would introduce the licences back in November, but hadn't provided updates since then. "I believe that issuing new licenses can help, the service is not up to par in this city," Censi said at Monday's meeting.
Animal rights groups call on EU to intervene over Trento ‘anti-bear decree’
Animal rights groups on Tuesday called on European institutions to protect the bear population in the northern province of Trento after local authorities authorised the culling of up to eight “problematic” bears a year in 2024 and 2025.
Italy’s Anti-Vivisection League (LAV) asked Brussels to open an infringement procedure against both the Trento province and the Italian government in relation to the EU Habitats Directive, which prohibits the “deliberate killing” of large carnivores, including bears.
Italian animal rights groups have repeatedly contested the hard line taken by Trento president Maurizio Fugatti in managing the local bear population after a female brown bear killed a 26-year-old jogger in the village of Caldes last April.
According to the latest available data, the Trento province is home to some 110 bears.
Italy prosecutors seek dismissal of rape claim against Canadian film director
Prosecutors have asked a court in Italy to dismiss sexual assault charges against Oscar-winning Canadian director Paul Haggis on the basis of lack of evidence, according to local media reports.
Haggis, 70, who directed and co-wrote the 2004 film Crash and was the screenwriter for the Clint Eastwood film Million Dollar Baby and the Bond films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, had been due to headline the "Allora Fest" film festival in the southern city of Ostuni in June 2022 when a British woman accused him of rape.
He was put under house arrest for over two weeks on suspicion of sexual assault and aggravated personal injury, but a nearby court subsequently ordered his release, saying there were several "contradictions" in the woman's story, according to AFP reports.
In November, a New York jury found Haggis liable for the 2013 rape of a publicist after a civil trial, where he was ordered to pay at least $7.5 million in damages, AFP reported. He did not face criminal charges.
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