Minimum wage will not solve issue of poor work - Bonomi

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 15 - Introduction of a minimum wage in Italy will not solve the problem of the working poor, Confindustria President Carlo Bonomi said on Friday.
    The association of industrial entrepreneurs "remains convinced that the mere introduction of a legal minimum wage, without the accompaniment of a set of measures aimed at enhancing representation, would solve neither the huge issue of poor work, nor the scourge of contractual dumping, and nor would it give greater strength to collective bargaining," Bonomi told the annual assembly in Rome.
    "The Constitution obliges us to recognise a fair wage for workers' and this function "is entrusted to bargaining", he continued, insisting that in industry wage dynamics have been way higher than in other sectors of the economy in the last 20 years.
    The issue of poor work has been a hot topic in Italy since opposition parties presented a joint bill to introduce a legal minimum wage of nine euros gross per hour in June.
    However, while saying such a provision could be applied to some categories of workers as part of all-round efforts to combat low salaries, Premier Giorgia Meloni said Monday has ruled out tackling the problem with a single, generic law and asked the National Council for Economics and Labor (CNEL) to come up with an alternative in time for the presentation of the 2024 budget bill.
    On workplace safety - another hot topic in Italy following a recent spate of work-related deaths - Bonomi said prevention is key and called for "clear and simple rules" and "collective agreements" that provide for "full application of health and safety regulations".
    "Our vision is that it is necessary to prevent accidents by strengthening a participatory logic that unites in actions and related responsibilities, not one that divides and opposes, which is the legacy of old class antagonisms," said the industry chief. (ANSA).