UAn ad hoc regulation, to allow the mayor, councilors and general secretary to participate in the deliberative sessions of the council even remotely, via video conference, was approved in recent days by the executive of the mayor of Foggia Maria Aida Episcopo.
The act states that the experience gained during the epidemiological emergency when the collegial bodies of the Municipality met electronically, in order to limit contacts to a minimum also in light of circular no. 33 of 04.19.2022 of the Department for Internal and Territorial Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior, with which it is made known that there is no obstacle to the adoption of regulations that regulate on an ordinary basis the use of telematic tools by municipal bodies (Council and Council), is more than positive.
However, even the Episcopal Council admits that it is appropriate to regulate the ordinary activity of the municipal council in electronic form in order to guarantee the correct performance of the municipal administrative activity. For the mixed mode it is necessary to regulate the functioning of the municipal council in telematic and mixed mode through a specific regulation, also with the aim, we read, “of avoiding possible misunderstandings and misunderstandings which, in the absence of specific regulation, can always happen”.
Well, this act appears to be slightly in contradiction with the new rules for agile working for the public administration, which are so much opposed by some of the public sector. In recent years there have been countless studies examining the costs, benefits, ecological and health advantages, but also the possible risks of working from home not only for the worker but also for the general productivity of companies or public administrations.
In fact, from 1 April 2024, so-called smart working is only possible after signing an individual agreement between employer and employee. In short, between the organization and the employee, in the public case.
There are few organizations in Italy that have clarified these aspects in an unprecedented way. Among the few is the Municipality of Pesaro, which with a specific regulation allows employees to submit an application for the so-called “smart working” “in the presence of a pathology affecting the employee himself or his spouse, cohabitant more uxorio, the civil partner, the parent, the son or daughter, the brother or sister, from which a serious and urgent situation arises” and not “otherwise dealable with ordinary institutions nor deferrable”.
The application, as highlighted in the Pesaro regulation, must be presented to the competent managers, responsible both for the evaluation of the application and for having to develop strategic, precise and evaluable objectives. They will be supported in this first phase by specific courses.
None of this is specified in the smart working regulations for Foggia administrators. What will be the reasons that justify absences in presence and the use of devices for remote presence? It is not clear at the moment.
It is only noted that participation in the Council meetings can be carried out by videoconference, therefore allowing one or more members, the General Secretary and any other authorized subjects, with the possibility of intervention or support, to participate remotely, from places other than the institutional headquarters of the Municipality, simultaneously and in real time. Videoconferencing is permitted in compliance with transparency and traceability criteria.
It reads: “The meetings of the Council can also take place in a mixed form with simultaneous and contextual participation both in physical presence and through connection to an IT platform that allows the direct, contemporary, visual and auditory perception of the participants, guaranteeing the identification of the themselves, discussion, intervention and the right to vote in real time in relation to the topics to be discussed. It is therefore necessary that all councillors, the mayor and the general secretary, as well as any other participants summoned for this purpose and authorized to participate, have access to users and equipment that make it possible to connect to the platform used to carry out the session by video conference. In this case, it is necessary to acknowledge the contextual participation of the Councillors, the Mayor, the General Secretary and all those who intervene remotely, for the entire duration of the session, highlighting in the minutes any absences and related consequences on the carrying out of the work of the ‘collegial body’.
Maximum privacy obviously for the sessions which will ensure: the maximum possible confidentiality of communications; the maximum possible security of the system; the immediate possibility for all participants to perceive the presence of other participants remotely, excluding secret participations; intervene in the discussion and carry out an open vote.
