Italy: temporary work agencies employers’ body raises alarm over perverse effects of the Dignity Decree that will see the most vulnerable moving towards jobs with the least protection

The employers’ organization that groups interim employment agencies has affirmed its concerns over the latest data from Italy’s Official Statistics Institute, Istat, which has shown a fall in employment (-75,000 in December 2019 compared with November) and in particular in the number of permanent employment contracts. This data, according to Alessandro Ramazza, president of the temporary work agencies Assolavoro organization, “confirms the urgent need to revise the Dignity Decree that was adopted 18 months ago and that has significantly toughened the conditions allowing recourse to temporary employment contracts and interim work (c.f. article No. 10787 and No. 11158). Alessandro Ramazza explained, “initially the Dignity Decree marked a turning point by accelerating the pace of employment stabilization (Ed. note: transitioning of those in precarious employment to permanent employment contracts) for those with the most sought after professional profiles while also allowing the most vulnerable to ‘slide’ towards the least protected forms of employment. Momentum driving employment stabilization now appears to be over.” According to Alessandro Ramazza, INPS (National Institute of Social Security) data show that in the first 11 months of 2019 there was a +13.5% increase in seasonal hiring and a +7% increase in irregular-hours employment, while the number of temporary employment contracts fell by nearly -8% and interim employment recruitment plummeted almost -28%. Assolavoro estimates that in 2020 some 25,000 risk moving into the least protected and irregular forms of employment.