Social Pacts in Italy: Pact for Labour

PERIOD: 1996

SIGNATORY PARTIES:  

Government: President of the Council of Ministries Romano Prodi; Minister for Labour Tiziano Treu; the undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council Enrico Micheli.

Workers’ organisations: Sergio Cofferati – CGIL, Sergio D’Antoni – CISL, Pietro Larizza – UIL, Mauro Nobilia – CISNAL, Gaetano Cerioli – CISL.

Employers’ organisations:  the presidents of the following organizations: Confindustria, Confcommercio,  Confapi, Confesercenti, Assicredito, Cispel, Confetra, Lega Cooperative, Confcooperative, Coldiretti, CIA, Confagricoltura, CAN, CASA, CLAAI, Confartigianato, UNICI, AGCI, ANIA, ACRI.

GOALS OF THE PACT:  The immediate goal stressed in this pact was to  increase the employment rate, in particular in the South. To reach this goal, the government plans to review existing policy in a number of areas, including: vocational training, education, and continuing education. Regarding labour market policies, the Pact for Labour describes the government’s new policy plans on apprenticeship, internship, continuing education, temporary work, promotion of part time, social work, new employment services, measures to deal with the informal economy.  

MATTERS AGREED: The Pact for Labour  contains a general description of the policy measures that the government intends to work out — in brief, a general overview  of Italy’s weaknesses and the reforms that needed to be made.  The labour market reforms envisaged in the Pact for Labour were translated into Law no. 197 of 1997. It is therefore a case of  “negotiated laws”, i.e. a type of legislation resulting from intense social concertation with the social partners.  The 197 law regulated temporary work, fixed term contracts, thereby introducing new labour market flexibility. It also provided incentives for the use of part time work, reformed the apprenticeship system and training and employment contracts, reorganised the vocational training system, introduced social programmes for the unemployed, and launched two new grants for first-time job seekers (scholarships and loans).    

BACKGROUND: Italy was concerned with its own economic and financial situation because on the basis of the Maastricht convergence criteria, Italy’s budget policy was not in line. In addition, the EU meeting at Essen on employment had indicated that Italy’s labour market was too rigid and the employment rates were too low. Such underlying economic situations urged the government and the social partners to meet and negotiate in order to create a more flexible labour market.

INSTITUTIONS INVOLVED:  The tripartite body CNEL  (National Council for Economy and Labour) was not involved. The social partners met in the government headquarters.

ACTION TAKEN: Law no. 197 of 1997 was enacted

IMPACTS ON: Law no. 197 was the first piece of legislation to contribute to labour market flexibility. 

SUMMARY AND COMMENTS: In the text of the pact it is said that the signatory parties are convinced that there is an urgent need to activate an integrated strategy among macro-economic policies, labour market policies and employment policies. At the same time the signatory parties confirm that the method of concertation (social dialogue) has a key role and that the July 1993 triparite Agreement has been validated. 

Link to the full text: http://www.cnel.it/archivio/contratti_lavoro/accgov.asp