REGGIO CALABRIA «The May Day holiday, all over the world, is an anniversary that recalls the value of work and remembers the many sacrifices, even at the cost of their lives, of those who fought for better conditions for themselves, their families, society ». This was stated by Antonio Morabito, provincial secretary of the Democratic Party of Reggio Calabria. «Unfortunately, the current situation – says Morabito – highlights signs of regression compared to the past for the conditions of workers and, above all, of young people, even if they have advanced qualifications. The data on the absolute poverty, both among families and among young people: this is certified by the report ‘Absolute poverty and consumption expenditure – Preliminary estimates 2023’, which Istat presented on 25 March. According to estimates by the Institute of Statistics, the incidence of absolute poverty is equal to8.5% among families (8.3% in 2022) and others 9.8% among individuals (9.7% in 2022), affecting beyond 2 million 234 thousand familiesAnd 5 million 752 thousand individuals. Record data on minors: in 2023, the incidence of absolute individual poverty for minors reaches 14% (equal to 1.3 million), marking the highest value since 2014. Issues that require a close confrontation between the social partners and politics to avoid the twisting of dangerous social dynamics which, inevitably, would also shake the foundations of society and democracy. The Government’s choices, including the cancellation of a universal minimum income instrument, will have a dramatic impact on families. Istat numbers tell us that poverty in Italy continues to grow at record levels, 5.7 million people, also affected by the trend of inflation and increases in energy costs. The average monthly expenditure has grown by 8 percent in less than ten years. A problem that must be addressed with structural measures, exactly the opposite of what the Meloni Government has done in the last year. They continue to hide the inclusion check numbers to hide the failure of their choices. And the decisions taken with the latest budget will burden families in difficulty in terms of health services, educational poverty and employment growth. The increase in poverty among employees, which reaches 9.1% in 2023, from 8.3% in 2022, affecting over 944 thousand families, is a sign of alarm and concern and certainly requires careful reflection on the condition of the world of work and of workers. Absolute poverty grows among families with an employed reference person, reaching the highest value of the entire historical series, since 2014. Work and poor must no longer go together, which is why we will continue to fight for the legal minimum wage, which center-right government majority tries to put on a dead end. The centre-right Government, with its own policies implemented, instead of eliminating inequalities, also widens them through the introduction of differentiated autonomy which will do nothing but increase the already existing economic-social gap between the regions of the South and the of the North. Finally, we must say enough to deaths in the workplace. In fact, in 2023, fatal accidents have dramatically increased. We must, therefore, also fight to support and approve the bill that introduces the crime of “murder at work”.
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