Premier Giorgia Meloni said Wednesday
that the government would not make any U-turns on its plans to
phase out the 'citizenship wage' (RdC) minimum-income benefit
after protests by beneficiaries and assertions by the opposition
that it was waging a "war against the poor" with the move.
"The government does not intend to turn back on its steps over
the citizenship wage because it wants to go from the citizenship
wage to the employment wage, which one obtains via work," Meloni
said in a video message.
The government has come under fire from opposition parties both
over the move itself and the way in which it has been handled.
Some 159,000 families in Italy were told by text message that
their RdC was being cut last month, sparking concern about what
will happen to the people losing their welfare cheques amid
confusion about the benefits that will replace the citizenship
wage.
The government, which says the RdC took away people's incentive
to find work and was too susceptible to fraud, has since sought
to clarify the situation.
People considered fit for work will be able to present a claim
to social-security agency INPS for the Labour Formation Support
(SFL) benefit, which is dependent on them having enrolled on a
training programme to help them re-enter the labour market.
Households in which there are minors, disabled people or people
over 60 will be able to keep receiving the RdC until the end of
the year and then claim a new benefit, the inclusion cheque
(ADI), worth a maximum of 500 euros a month per individual.
The SFL benefit will be worth up to 350 euros a month, payable
for a maximum of 12 months.
"It was estimated that 300,000 people would lose the citizenship
wage," said Meloni.
"In the end, 112,000 lost it.
"It is reasonable to think that they started to work because
they knew that, at a certain point, they would not be able to
count on the benefit any more.
"So they rolled up their sleeves and started to look for work
and found it".
She added that the end of the RdC should not have come as a
surprise as it was included in the 2023 budget law approved last
year.
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