Brescia. «We read with no small amazement the position taken by Alberto Pluda, General Secretary of the CISL of Brescia, against the institution of the municipal minimum wage. A measure proposed in Brescia by the 5 Star Movement which we immediately supported. A proposal that the Italian Left is advancing in all the administrations in which it sits and which has already become reality in many cities such as Florence, Livorno, Naples.”
They state this, in a note, Mattia DatteriCitizen Secretary of the Italian Left Brescia, e Luca Trentini, Provincial secretary Italian Left Brescia.
«It is surprising – Datteri and Trentini continue – that a union is opposed to the establishment of an instrument to protect the dignity of work and salaries. Already present in 21 of the 27 states of the European Union, the minimum wage has proven to be fundamental for the defense and revival of salaries. This reality has not at all precluded bargaining, but rather has strengthened it by allowing the unions to start from a solid base by bargaining upwards.”
«In the impossibility of passing a national law on the subject, rejected in parliament by the right-wing majority, The opposition, all united on this issue, would do well to propose it in the administrations in which they sit. Because the dignity of work and the protection of wages are fundamental issues, especially in our country.”
«We are told that this would be an unrealistic battle because reality doesn’t care about principles and in fact surpasses them, as wages in the north are already above the minimum threshold proposed. Instead, we are convinced that principles shape reality and can change it. Because statistics are not reality. It would be enough to look around – continue Datteri and Trentini – to discover a more dramatic reality than the narrative that is made of it. Atypical contracts, part time, subcontracting, lowest-bidder tenders have meant that Italy is the only OECD country in which average wages have decreased. In Italy 3 million people, 12% of workers, earn less than 950 euros a month: they are poor workers. Because a market without rules and without politics generates poverty.”
«We are aware of the role of trade unions in the transformation of the world of work, as long as they know how to innovate and abandon positional interests or identity closures. CGIL and UIL, initially hesitant about the minimum wage, have understood its usefulness and scope. Not so the CISL. In fact, it is not enough to wave the number of your members to gain recognition as a subject of change. We – conclude the two political exponents of the Italian Left in Brescia – will work together with the other majority forces so that this instrument is also approved in the city, not so much as an ideological signal, but as a real instrument of redemption, especially for those who struggle the most”.
