News update as of July 13, 2018

Italy/ Difficult road ahead for so-called 'Dignity Decree', which is set to be amended during its passage through parliament. The Dignity Decree (see article no. 10750), which has been heavily pushed by Luigi Di Maio, minister of economic development, labour and social policies and leader of the Five Star Movement, aims to reduce employment instability, particularly through a crackdown on closed-ended contracts and temporary work. Adopted by Italy's Council of Ministers on 2 July, the bill has already required revision in order to be approved by the state's accounting office and be signed by the Italian president, which came on 12 July. The amended version of the text includes stronger financial protection, while it will no longer be required to provide a reason for a seasonal contract being renewed. The bill's passage through parliament is set to commence next week and end before the summer break, from 10 August. It is expected that other changes are made to the text, particularly due to pressure from the League, the other party in the coalition and the voter base of which is made up of many small business owners, who are particularly unhappy with the bill. The decree could lead to the reintroduction of so-called vouchers, which were abolished last year (see article no. 10123) and were a form of payment for ad hoc work in the agriculture and tourism sectors. The move would be a step towards reducing the cost of labour, aimed at encouraging a transition from closed-ended to open-ended contracts. Elsewhere the employment minister has encouraged social partners to engage in dialogue to agree a collective agreement for bicycle couriers and also promised to quickly undertake a reform of Sunday work in the retail sector, which is currently liberalised.