(see related stories on minimum wage)
(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 16 - The parliamentary majority on
Thursday presented an amendment to an opposition bill on the
minimum wage giving the government power to legislate on
collective bargaining and workers' pay.
The legislation is to be adopted on the proposal of the labour
minister within six months, according to the proposed amendment.
The stated aim is to to "guarantee the implementation of the
right of every worker to a proportionate and adequate wage, as
enshrined in Article 36 of the Constitution".
Under the amendment the labour ministry would also have power to
intervene directly to establish the minimum economic treatment
to be applied in the event of collective contracts that have
expired and have not been renewed and for sectors for which no
collective contract is in place.
Former premier and leader of the opposition Five Star Movement
(M5S), Giuseppe Conte, one of the proponents of the bill to
introduce a minimum wage of nine euros gross an hour, said the
amendment would "humiliate" parliament and that the government
is doing everything possible to thwart an initiative that he
described as a "norm of civilization".
"They are doing this to block and deflate this wave that has
been rising in the country," said Conte.
"They have contrived in every way, with regulatory gimmicks, to
try to push it away," he added.
While saying such a minimum wage could be applied to some
categories of workers as part of all-round efforts to combat low
salaries, the government has ruled out tackling the problem
through a single, generic law and asked the National Council for
Economics and Labor (CNEL) to come up with an alternative.
Last month the CNEL said that wage levels should be set in the
"traditional way" of collective bargaining.
Photo: Former premier and opposition five Star Movement leader
Giuseppe Conte. (ANSA).
Majority gives power to government to legislate on fair pay
Measure set out in amendment to opposition minimum wage bill