Distant positions between government and opposition on minimum wage. In the meeting at Palazzo Chigi, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated her position of opposition to the introduction of the measure, motivating the reasons, in his opening speech. Then the leaders of the opposition spoke, who illustrated their proposals in alphabetical order. The word then passed to the other members of the government, the two deputy prime ministers Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani and the minister of labour, Marina Calderone.
The risk is that with the legal setting of a quota at 9 euros, the salaries of 80% of the workers who earn the most today will be lowered: this is what Salvini underlined, who participated in a video link. It’s okay to work against pirated contracts and exploitation – was the Northern League leader’s reasoning -, but with 90% of workers already covered and protected by national contracts, it’s better to concentrate your efforts on something else. And then, merchants and artisans already in difficulty would risk closing. In short – he underlined -, as with the citizen’s income there is the risk of fueling undeclared work. I prefer to open construction sites and unblock works, to create stable and well-paid work. The Bridge over the Strait that Pd and 5Stelle oppose – he claimed – will create 100,000 jobs between Sicily and Calabria, other than basic income or wages imposed by law.
Meloni’s clear position
«We are interested when the question of strengthening wages is raised, the issue of combating poor work interests us, as long as we understand each other. There are divergences on the instruments and I have proposed a much broader comparison involving the Cnel». The prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said at the end of the meeting with the opposition at Palazzo Chigi that she then increased the dose. “If we think we’re giving a simple answer to a complex issue, we risk creating more damage than we want to solve.”