JOBS ACT: cosa significa per noi? - YouTube

On February 20th 2015 the first decrees of the Jobs Act were approved .

We've heard, from both the Government and the Opposition,

that the Jobs Act is the most important labor reform of the last years

but what's changing for us?

The answer of Renzi's Government is clear:

"the Jobs Act is the good way to restart Italy's economy"

"No one will be left behind, there'll be more protections for those who lose their jobs

and words as "house loans", "holidays", "rights" and "leaving bonus"

we'll be familiar for a generation who has never known them before".

Oh yes, because for the Government the system needs flexibility.

In a labor market with too many rules

firms don't hire, because it's risky, and so the unemployment rate rises

and the so called Italy-firm loses competitiveness.

Because finally the companies need flexibility,

they find it among a bulk of precarious workers without rights.

Leaving the market free to act,

we'll solve suddenly both the issues of the country's competitiveness,

and the unemployment and the unfair division between

guaranteed workers and precarious workers.

"At last a government with a clear plan!

And which wants to end precariousness!

Therefore, does the Jobs Act remove temporary contracts?

Actually, not.

The demolition of the crowd of precarious contracts is a big lie.

Only the collaboration contract is abolished,

but it remains in the sectors where it's regulated by collective bargaining,

while all the others remain!

Indeed, some are even more convenient!

Casual work paid with vouchers will be enhanced

but primarily, the most frequent kind of temporary contract

is being promoted: the temporary contract.

In fact, now the employer doesn't have to justify why it is used

the number of possible renewals ha risen,

and the maximum duration has been extended.

Also the apprenticeship has been liberalized.

With the Jobs Act a company can hire more apprentices than before.

Moreover, with the excuse to rationalise,

inspection activities on the workplaces are weakened.

The activities of the labor office, and of other labor institutions,

are melted in a single inspection agency.

If this make the state save money, it doesn't benefit the workers.

I understood. So temporary contracts remain.

But, at least we have a new permanent contract

that guarantees rising protections.

The new permanent contract ensures only permanent uncertainty.

From now on, when a court judges a layoff as not justified,

and only in this unusual event,

the worker will receive the meager compensation

of two monthly wages for each year worked,

up to a maximum of 24 months, and will forget forever

the re-integration on his work place.

We will be able to be re-integrated only in case of discriminatory layoff,

which has never happened so far in Italian jurisprudence

If they made equal "precarious" and "guaranteed"

it's only because, from now on, permanent contracts too

will be precarious.

Moreover, thanks to a gift put in the Italian budget sheets,

Italian employers won't pay taxes and retirement contributions for three years

for the workers hired with the new permanent contract,

they'll be paid by the taxpayers for the amount of 8.000€ per year.

Aah... and so the permanent contract is not really permanent, but precarious.

But at least we'll have new social safety nets

even for those who didn't have any protection before.

Yes. Actually with the new employment social insurance (Naspi)

more people can receive unemployment benefits;

but on the other side the amount, duration and the

amount of retirement contributions decrease.

Moreover, since the protection for unjustified and collective layoffs

disappeared, "Cassa integrazione" is abolished too,

a system to avoid layoffs in companies in crisis, paying part of the salary

to the workers forced to stay at home because of the fall of productivity.

A system that used to keep the workers togheter and linked with their workplaces.

From now on, we'll have only a meager unemployment benefit,

that we'll receive only proving to be "really" in search of a new job.

In other words, if we decline work or professional training proposals

of our employment office, maybe because the work offered

is hours away from where we live, has a very low pay, or isn't paid at all,

there's the possibility that as well this pittance will be interrupted.

And it's not over! With the next decrees of the Jobs Act,

the employer will be able to switch a worker to a lower task with a lower pay

and employers will have the opportunity to control

their workers through several hi-tech devices.

And so all the promises about "anyone will be left behind"?

Maybe at least we could hope that growth will restart

thanks to the reform, and companies will be hiring again

and probably mostly young people!

I would not rely on this.

Haven't you noticed that who says of being concerned about young people's fate,

are the same men who wanted and created precarious contracts?

Just like the former labor minister Sacconi, very happy with Renzi's Reform.

This ruling class, at first created an awful precarious situation,

and now is exploiting it to deepen and generalize it in the name of equality.

And after all these years of reforms, do you see a decrease of unemployment?!

Mostly for the youth? The truth is that youth unemployment

decreases only when the general unemployment decreases.

And the workers protections have nothing to do with it.

If you don't trust me, listen to Oliver Blanchard

chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

who candidly admitted that "The differences among

the work protection systems are not related to the differences

among the unemployment rates of the different countries"

It means that the hope to decrease unemployment rates with the Jobs Act

is science fiction, as well as the myth of growth.

You can get an explanation of this also from the OECD,

which after many years questioned whether work flexibility could lead to growth.

We have to get it!

Renzi's Government has nothing to do with our needs.

The growth they speak about is only the growth of our exploitation!

But then... if they don't do it neither for precarious workers,

nor for the unemployed and nor for the growth...

who did they do this Jobs Act for?

They did it to increase their profits.

In the last decades, in all the eurozone countries,

workers salaries increased less than the labor productivity.

Only capitalists' pockets took advantage from all this

And this happened also in the so celebrated German model.

And the ECB president Draghi said it clearly:

"This is the password to exit the crisis"

But the truth is that they are simply taking advantage from the crisis!

Because with the crisis unemployment rates rise,

and we start fighting each other,

carving up the few crumbs they concede us.

The Government deceived us with the Jobs Act,

hoping to use our individualism and to put us one against another.

Precarious against protected, young against old people,

women against men... Renzi's outcome is simple

workers of the world: slaughter each other!

But then everything is lost!

We are completely alone, exposed without any protection

to the whims of the bosses.

We'll be forced to make war among us.

No! We must remember that every protection, right,

and improvement of our conditions

were snatched when the workers rose their head.

We can learn the only possible answer to such a strong attack

from the masters by the proletarians of Paris in 1848,

they repeated it with the students in 1968,

it's shouted today by the workers in the strikes of the logistics sector:

WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE!

An article that explains in English what is the Jobs Act, is in the English section of our web site.