According to the findings of the provincial building funds and the Edilcassa del Lazio, there are approximately 16 thousand construction companies and over 75 thousand workers in the construction sector in Lazio, with approximately 800 million of declared wages.
For the general secretary of Filca Cisl of Lazio, Attilio Vallocchia “The data we also record for the first quarter of 2024 is stable compared to that of the last quarter of 2023 but a subsequent decline will have to be taken into consideration, due to the completion of the works of the superbonus. In this next critical phase, we need structural measures. The time has come to start a negotiation, to think about a long-term period so as not to return to the past, because the incentives will be reduced and consequently there will be a contraction in redevelopments.
International tensions on a geo-political and economic level shape a second half of 2024 characterized by strong elements of risk and uncertainty which will probably lead to a significant contraction in Construction estimates. The exceptional push of public works is not able to guarantee the stability of the entire construction market and related industries, but only to attenuate its decline. We cannot afford to stop and slow down one of the main engines of the regional and national economy that has driven the industrial sector in the last three years.
2024 will be an important and decisive year for the infrastructural strengthening of the region. The huge resources of the PNRR, together with the funds provided for the Jubilee, represent an unmissable opportunity for the relaunch of the territory. Ensuring the communities the creation of modern, safe, efficient works, simultaneously guaranteeing the maintenance of public buildings and the safety of the territory will be the first step towards the development of the territory with benefits and advantages for the community, but everything must be done in maximum safety for workers.”
Filca Cisl of Lazio, confirmed as the first trade union in terms of number of members in the construction sector of Lazio, with 23,033 members, is calling for more controls to combat irregularities in the sector, more stringent legislation with more severe sanctions for those who do not respect the rules by putting I risk the lives of the workers. This is why training is fundamental and must be mandatory for workers who enter the construction site and for entrepreneurs who start a construction business. In the meetings with the Minister of Labour, Calderone, the CISL and the national Filca reiterated the importance of making training compulsory for employers and supervisors, as well as for all the workers involved in the workplace, with the involvement of protagonists of the bilateralism and equality of the sector. “The bilateral construction system,” declares Vallocchia, “remains a model and we believe the discussion between all the social partners is fundamental for synergistic work capable of providing rapid and effective responses. Together with them we are also identifying training courses for those skills that are disappearing from the world of construction work.
As Filca Cisl, immediately after the Florence massacre, we launched 10 proposals for safety on construction sites which are our historical manifesto for safe construction.”
1 Separation from the auction markdown of safety and labor costs even in private, labour-intensive jobs, to immediately provide guarantees of quality and transparency in the offer with control over abnormally low offers.
2 Guarantee, even in private works, of maintaining the same contractual standards throughout the entire procurement chain.
3 Joint and several liability in labor-intensive private jobs equal to public ones.
4 Mandatory training as a prerequisite for starting a construction activity in the chamber of commerce, to ensure that new businesses are prepared for the challenges that the market imposes, in a responsible way.
5 Mandatory preventive safety training for all those who enter the construction site and for foreigners construction literacy preparatory to the course.
6 Execution of the most complex jobs entrusted to specialist companies, not just manpower, with at least five years of experience, certified in carrying out that specific process.
7 Rewards for companies sworn to by the bilateral system for informed prevention and, in the presence of high manpower intensity, mandatory preventive visits by the CPT (joint body for safety)
8 Introduction of the figure of the Safety promoter, consultant for inspection activities, in order to strengthen the tools put in place by the U8nico Text and limit the number of tasks for safety coordinators, with the obligation to be present on site at least weekly.
9 For labor-intensive works, preferential assignment to business networks/business aggregations to encourage corporate structure aimed at quality and employer responsibility, while at the same time involving high levels of professionalism aimed at carrying out the work.
10 Transparent digital construction site sign for all contracts.
“We presented all these proposals,” declares Attilio Vallocchia, “in meetings with workers in a climate of participation, dialogue and discussion. As a union we continually remember the high number of workers who have lost their lives. There have been 240 victims on construction sites in Lazio since 2003.
Furthermore, greater control is needed from the institutions to combat the phenomenon of contractual dumping and to enforce the national construction contract between construction sites and, for the safety of workers, we ask that the right role for prevention be given to the Representatives of Territorial Security workers and the teaching of the Italian language to foreign employees, to allow them to understand and consequently warn and communicate danger in the event of an emergency. We must work together with the construction schools of Lazio to do more and more targeted training and to spread the culture of safety and raise workers’ awareness of the perception of risk. Only in this way will we be able to guarantee the quality of work, the safety of workers and buildings and legality between construction sites.”
