Italy doesn't even allow workers nine euros an hour
It wasn't so long ago that people in Germany were working for significantly less than ten euros an hour, which was barely enough to make a living. Today, the minimum wage is twelve euros. Rome shows that there is another way.
In Italy, the government majority of ultra-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has passed a law against the introduction of a statutory minimum wage. By 153 votes to 118, the Chamber of Deputies in Rome voted in favor of a bill that gives Meloni's cabinet six months to ensure adequate wages - without a statutory wage floor. Italy thus remains one of only five EU member states without a statutory minimum wage for the time being.
Representatives of the Italian opposition reacted indignantly to the vote, with several of them holding banners in parliament and shouting "Shame, shame!" The leader of the social democratic Partito Democratico (PD), Elly Schlein, spoke of a "sad day for the Republic". The Meloni government had "slapped the exploited in the face".
The legislative text now passed by the MPs had come about in an unusual way. Originally, almost all parties of the center-left opposition in the Italian parliament had introduced a bill to introduce a statutory minimum wage of nine euros per hour.
The government majority referred the text back to the relevant committee. There it was largely rewritten: instead of the introduction of a minimum wage, it now includes a mandate for the government to guarantee "adequate" and "sufficient" salaries for employees in the country. This requirement is enshrined in the Italian constitution.
Majority of the population demands minimum wage
The Meloni government rejects the introduction of a minimum wage with reference to national collective bargaining between employers and trade unions. Instead of defining an "exact figure", the government will focus on the "level of coverage" of collective agreements, said Labor Minister Marina Elvira Calderone.
However, the gross hourly wage in several Italian collective agreements is significantly below the nine euros that the center-left opposition had demanded: in the cleaning industry, for example, at 6.52 euros per hour, in tourism businesses at 7.48 euros.
According to surveys, around 70 percent of Italians are in favor of introducing a minimum wage, and there is also a majority in favor of this among voters of the right-wing parties. Apart from Italy, only Denmark, Finland, Austria and Sweden do not currently have a statutory minimum wage within the EU.
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Despite the majority of Italians supporting a minimum wage, the government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has voted against its introduction. Instead, they have given their cabinet six months to ensure "adequate" and "sufficient" wages without a statutory wage floor, making Italy one of only five EU member states without a minimum wage. This stance has been met with criticism from the opposition, who argue that the move will continue to exploit workers.
Source: www.ntv.de
