66% of Lucanians live in a condition of low and medium-low social well-being. It is the result of the BES 2023 Report released by Istat which – underlines Uil – confirms the growth of forms of social imbalances in our region. The classification made by the BES 2023 Report on the basis of 132 different indicators by sector and characteristic highlights this: only 9% of Lucanians are in the “high” class, 15.9% “medium-high”, 18.2% in “medium”, while 24.2% in “medium-low” and 31.8% in “low”. The risk of poverty – to limit ourselves to the “economic well-being” indicator – involves more than 20% of Lucanian families.
Furthermore – underlines Uil – the analysis by gender highlights a female disadvantage in various areas, including work and safety, but also advantages in the sectors of health and education: the latter emerges as a fundamental element for individual well-being, associated with better economic, working and social participation conditions; significant regional inequalities are also observed, with the Centre-North showing higher levels of well-being than the South.
In the Report, the trend that has spread in recent years is more marked – and which, as UIL, we believe to be true – which highlights a certain inability of the gross domestic product (GDP) alone to provide an exhaustive image of the reality and value of what really constitutes the wealth and well-being of a nation. From this perspective, the same degree of well-being of a State is recognized more than anything else in the need to set new political choices, new scenarios, and above all new indicators that truly take into account the fundamental environmental and social dimensions. Therefore, the overall picture, excluding some timid signs of improvement, portrays an Italy in which the income gap in the population is increasing, and equally, the percentage of people at risk of poverty is growing. This situation therefore calls for the allocation of public investments so that there is a change of pace in the protection and maintenance of our territory, but also with respect to social needs and employment.
“We are convinced – comments the regional secretary of Uil Vincenzo Tortorelli – that the concepts of well-being and sustainability require not only reliable and adequate indices, but also and above all democratic sharing and legitimation, which imply the involvement of the Government, the Region and of the Institutions that is continuous and effective for all sectors of society, obviously including trade unions. For these reasons, to change our development model and facilitate a different and better redistribution of wealth in society, adequate political responsibility is needed. We need to have the ability to make decisions, which does not mean imposition or decision-making, but rather the ability to listen, and above all participation on the part of all stakeholders, starting with the social partners. All this – adds Tortorelli – is fundamental in the launch of the new regional legislature and in the work of the new regional council which will be appointed by the newly re-elected President Bardi. Therefore the hope is first of all for a turning point in the relationship with the social partners, first and foremost the trade unions, enabling us to evaluate the state of implementation of the Pnrr Measures and of every community spending program. As for the Government, we are concerned that the Def does not talk about welfare. The strikes and demonstrations at a national level and articulated at a regional level in recent months – says Tortorelli – have put forward proposals through protest that await responses from the national and regional governments. In particular, people want answers on the social state and on the healthcare system which is not capable of giving them dignified assistance or guaranteeing local healthcare”.
