Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Italy (Ratification: 1971)

Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention. Measures to alleviate the impact of the crisis. Employment trends. The Committee notes the report provided by the Government in October 2013 which includes information on the measures adopted towards combatting informal employment and the transition from education to the labour market. Measures adopted in 2013 were directed towards four priorities: (i) the creation of employment through open-ended contracts; (ii) the promotion of self-employment; (iii) attracting young people who are neither in employment nor in education or training (the “NEET” group) to the labour market through apprenticeships; (iv) the fight against extreme poverty. The Committee notes the 2012 labour market reform measures under Law No. 92/2012 which aims to achieve a comprehensive and dynamic labour market, capable of contributing to the creation of jobs, in terms of quantity and quality, to social and economic growth and to the permanent reduction of the unemployment rate. Information from the 2014 annual report of the National Institute for Statistics (ISTAT) shows that the only type of employment that has increased when compared to 2008 employment figures is part-time employment. ISTAT data also indicates that unemployment reached 12.6 per cent in May 2014, an increase of 0.5 percentage point when compared to the same period in 2013. The number of unemployed persons was measured at 3,222,000 persons, an increase of 127,000 over a one-year period. Moreover, the Committee notes in the ISTAT 2014 annual report the continued differences in employment and unemployment rates between northern and southern regions of Italy. The unemployment rate in Italy was 12.2 per cent in 2013 (5.4 percentage points higher than in 2008 and 1.5 higher than in 2012) with unemployment reaching 19.7 per cent in southern Italy. The Committee previously noted the difference in occupation levels registered for both women and men. ISTAT data shows that the employment rate of men was measured at 65 per cent in July 2013 and 46.8 per cent for women. In view of the increase of unemployment that has occurred since the 2012 observation, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which Article 2 of the Convention is applied, namely whether a regular review is undertaken of the measures and policies adopted for attaining the objectives of the Convention specified in Article 1. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the effects of the measures adopted on closing the gap of employment levels between the various regions of the country and on addressing the gap between employment levels of women and men. Please also provide information on the manner in which the experience and views of the social partners have been taken into account in the implementation and evaluation of employment policy measures (Article 3).

Youth employment. The Committee notes the high youth unemployment affecting all regions in Italy. It notes in this regard from ISTAT that unemployment among young people in the 15–24 age group was measured at 43 per cent in May 2014, an increase of 4.2 percentage points when compared to the previous year. The Committee notes the youth employment measures which include one that is to be implemented until June 2015 and is directed at the creation of open-ended employment contracts for young people up to the age of 29 by providing cost reductions to hiring enterprises during an 18-month period. In this regard, Law Decree No. 76/2013, converted into Law No. 99/2013, provides for a budget of €794 million for the 2013–16 period for incentives to employers when hiring young workers under an open-ended contract (€500 million for regions of southern Italy and €294 million for other regions). The Government indicates that that interventions under the legislation adopted in 2013 are only the first step in its strategy to promote employment, particularly youth employment, and social cohesion. A second group of measures will be defined as soon as the European institutions have approved the rules for the use of structural funds for the period 2014–20 and those for the Youth Guarantee. The Committee requests the Government to provide information that will enable it to examine the outcome of the measures taken to reduce youth unemployment.

Education and training policies and programmes. The Committee notes the information included in the Government’s detailed report on the application of the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), received in November 2013, indicating that, as of the 2013–14 academic year, Permanent Territorial Centres will be established in provincial centres for adult education to provide structured training for levels of learning aimed at achieving qualifications. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of education and training measures, including apprenticeship programmes, in terms of obtaining lasting employment for young persons and other groups of vulnerable workers.

Cooperatives. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that the number of cooperatives has increased from 70,029 in 2001 to 79,949 in 2011, employing over 1.3 million workers. During the economic crisis, the growth continued and reached 80,844 in the third quarter of 2012. The Committee refers to the Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation, 2002 (No. 193), and invites the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to promote productive employment through cooperatives.