«The referendums promoted on the Jobs Act, on fixed-term contracts and on safety in procurement respond to a worsening and impoverishment of work which also affects Friuli Venezia Giulia». The regional secretary of the CGIL Michele Piga thus explains the reasons for the referendum campaign, which is also in full swing in the region, in the territorial offices of the union, in the workplace, online and also with the setting up of banquets in the main squares of the capitals and on everything the regional territory in conjunction with the weekly markets. Thousands of signatures have already been collected in the region, 200 thousand have been counted at a national level with the update of 10 May, leading to a final objective of 800 thousand that the CGIL expects to reach already by July, significantly higher than the 500 thousand signatures needed to vote next spring.
THE REFERENDUMS The four questions proposed by the CGIL aim at the restoration of the protections prior to the Jobs Act regarding illegitimate dismissals, both in small companies and in those with more than 15 employees, at the reintroduction of reasons and specific limits for hiring with fixed-term contracts and to the joint liability of clients in the event of safety violations in the procurement and subcontracting chain. «In Friuli Venezia Giulia as at a national level – declares Piga – we are witnessing the progressive worsening of the conditions of workers, not only in terms of wages. It is the result of a development model, supported by the current Government, which does not invest in the workforce but aims exclusively at profit. With the four questions we have proposed we aim to intervene on some particularly critical points due to the effects they have in terms of precariousness, lack of protection and risks for safety at work”.
HERE FVG, PRECARITY Friuli Venezia Giulia is no exception to the trends that the CGIL intends to counter through referendums. «The data on the regional labor market – Piga continues – speak clearly: of the 269 thousand hirings registered in 2023, less than 26 thousand were permanent, i.e. 9.6%. Everything else is precarious, with 136 thousand fixed-term contracts, 43 thousand temporary contracts, 56 thousand para-subordinate, intermittent, domestic workers, internships and socially useful jobs. In short, the galaxy of precarious work exceeds 90% of total hirings and it is a trend that continues, as demonstrated by the data for the 1st quarter of 2024, which saw the percentage of stable contracts further decrease. The same report from the region, moreover, admits that precariousness and the low level of wages are determining characteristics of the labor market.” Promoting the stability of contracts, for the CGIL, is also a tool to combat poor work and offer young people better professional and life prospects, restarting the social lift and countering phenomena such as youth emigration and brain drain: «In the last 10 years – remarks the leader of the CGIL FVG – over 1.5 million residents have left Italy, 2.6 per 1000 inhabitants. With 43 thousand departures in the decade, Fvg is the region that records the highest rate, 3.6 per thousand, and these are mostly boys and girls between 25 and 34 years old, often graduates, for whom the lift society has been at a standstill for some time.”
HERE FVG, THE INJURIES The other big emergency is called security. Of the 1,040 fatal accidents that occurred in 2023 in Italy, more than 3 per day, 22 had workers in our region as victims, more than double compared to 2022. Four fatal cases have affected, in the region, the first three months of the new year, the same number of victims that was recorded in the first quarter of 2023. «The reality of procurement and construction – explains Piga – is confirmed as one of the sectors most affected by this plague: restoring the joint and several liability of clients, canceled by the decree 81/2008, does not only aim to strengthen protection and compensation for workers affected by accidents, but above all aims at greater responsibility in the selection of companies entrusted with the work, thus improving prevention and compliance with the rules”.
IN THE TERRITORIES To sign, you can contact the local offices of the CGIL or contact the delegates at your workplace. Citizens with a Spid and an electronic identity card can also sign up online, with a digitally certified signature. Hundreds of assemblies were held in the workplace, numerous banquets already organized and those scheduled throughout the regional territory, with dates and frequencies that vary from territory to territory. In the province of Udine, from mid-May to the end of June, they are set up every week on Saturdays in the capital (via Savorgnana, Villaggio del Sole and viale Vat) and on market days in Tolmezzo, Palmanova, Codroipo, San Daniele, Cervignano, Tarcento , Gemona, Cividale and San Giorgio di Nogaro. Markets also covered in the Right Tagliamento, with an agenda that from today to 31 May touches Brugnera, Sacile, Azzano Decimo, Casarsa and San Vito al Tagliamento. Signs are also signed in the city of Pordenone, on Wednesday and Saturday in Piazza Cavour and tomorrow (23 May) in the CGIL headquarters in Via San Valentino. In the Isonzo area and in Trieste, after the signatures collected on the occasion of April 25th and May 1st, a banquet was set up today at the weekly market in Monfalcone. In Trieste the campaign will focus on the months of June and July and this evening (6pm, Knulp bar) the joint pro-referendum initiatives will be presented which will be organized together with the network of student associations.
