This autumn there will be demonstrations for and against the law number 30, relating to employment. The current labour laws have been proposed by governments and approved by Parliament, and discussed with Trades Unions. To refer to them with the name of a person I believe to be fundamentally incorrect and an abuse. Everyone wanted the labour laws, or almost everyone. The problem we should ask is not whether or not to demonize law number 30 or who wants to repeal them or discuss the Red Brigades. The problem is whether or not the labour laws function and whether they can be improved. In Italy, there are 5 and a half million precarious workers. What future can they have? How much are they paid? How many days a year do they work? What protection do they have? For how long are they living in a precarious situation? Have they got the possibility to create a family? Can they get a mortgage for their home?
These are the questions to which we must give a response.
Most of the precarious workers are young. Thus they represent the future of Italy. The idea that full employment has been reached that is used to avoid discussing the current laws, reminds me of statistics about Italians who all ate half a chicken. In reality some ate a whole one and others ate none. Today many have a full time job, others work just for a few months a year, often underpaid. We must start again to discuss, and very soon, the quality of work and the guarantees for the workers. We cannot leave 5 and a half million precarious workers with little protection and without political representation and thus consign them to the extreme left or to anti-politics.
We need to go beyond law number 30 without demonizing it.