Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) - Italy (Ratification: 1956)

The Committee notes that the Government refers in its report to the information it supplied in the framework of the application of the European Social Security Code.

1. Part V (Old-age benefit) of the Convention. The Committee recalls that in assessing the extent of the application of the Code by Italy it has raised the question of the progressive increase of the minimum requirements respecting insurance and contributions, which are to reach 20 years on 1 January 2001 (see section 2(1) of Decree No. 503 of 30 December 1992 and Schedule B). In view of the fact that, in accordance with Article 29, paragraph 2(a) of the Code and of Convention No. 102, a reduced old-age benefit shall be secured at least to a protected person who has completed, prior to the contingency, in accordance with the prescribed rules, a qualifying period of 15 years of contribution or employment, the Committee had requested the Government to indicate the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to give full effect to these provisions.

In its twelfth report on the Code, the Government confirms that, subject to certain exceptions, workers who have not completed the qualifying period of 15 years before the date of 31 December 1992, will not be entitled to any benefit, even at a reduced level, if they cannot provide justifications for the required contribution period (17 years as from 1 January 1995 until 31 December 1996). However, the Government refers to the new Act No. 335 of 8 August 1995 respecting the reform of the compulsory and supplementary pension system, which introduces a new old-age pension to replace the previous benefits. This pension is provided either without conditions of age after 40 years of contribution, or at an age of between 57 and 65 years, on condition that the employment relationship is terminated, that five years' contributions have actually been paid and that the level of the above pension is 1.2 times greater than the level of the "social allowance". According to the Government, these new rules will come fully into force as from the year 2008. Until that date, it is planned to apply a transitional scheme. In view of these modifications, the Government considers that the above-mentioned problem raised by the Committee could be considered to be overcome.

The Committee notes this information. It notes that the new Act No. 335 of 8 August 1995 establishes a pension system determined on the basis of contributions and no longer, as was the case previously, of benefits (section 1(6) of the Act). It also notes that, in accordance with the new legislation, for a worker to be entitled to a reduced pension after five years' contributions, the pension must be 1.2 times greater than the level of the "social allowance". The Committee would like the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the effect of Act No. 335 of 1995 on the application of each of the Articles of Part V of the Convention, including statistics as requested by the report form under Article 76, paragraph 1(b)(i) and (ii) (in conjunction with Article 65 or 66) as they relate to old-age benefit. In this respect, the Committee hopes that the Government will be able to indicate the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to ensure that old-age benefits of the level required by the Convention (40 per cent of the reference wage) are secured in all cases to a standard beneficiary who has completed the qualifying period envisaged in Article 29, paragraph 1(a) of the above instrument (30 years of contribution or employment). In addition, the Committee would also like the Government to provide information on the transitional measures adopted under Act No. 335 of 8 August 1995, particularly as regards persons who were covered by Decree No. 503 of 30 December 1992. Finally, the Government is requested to supply the text of any regulations issued under the new legislation.

The Committee reserves the possibility of examining Act No. 335 of 8 August 1995 in greater detail when it has received the information requested above and when it has available a translation in English or French.

2. Part VII (Family benefit), Article 44 of the Convention. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the new statistics on the level of family benefit supplied by the Government in its 12th report on the Code. These statistics, which provide more up-to-date information on the total number of children of residents, show that the total value of family benefit increased in relation to the statistics provided by the Government in its eleventh report on the Code, reaching 1.22 per cent of the reference wage multiplied by the total number of children under 18 years of age. However, the Committee notes that the total value of family benefit still does not attain the percentage prescribed by Article 44 of the Convention, which is 1.5 per cent. In these conditions, the Committee hopes that the Government will not fail to provide information in its next report on the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to increase the total amount of family benefit allocated in accordance with Article 42 of the Convention so that it reaches the percentage prescribed by Article 44 of this instrument.

3. Finally, the Committee hopes that the Government's next report will contain a reply to the comments made by the "Sindicato Nazionale dei capi di Polizia in Congedi".

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 1997.]