Territorial Pact: Agreement on Flexibility in Some Areas of the Mezzogiorno
Territorial Pact: Agreement on Flexibility in Some Areas of the Mezzogiorno
On 29 July 1998, the framework agreement for the so-called "Cratere Industrial Zones" in the Provinces of Avellino and Salerno was reached. The aim of the framework agreement is to facilitate the signing of local regional development contracts. It concerns around twenty industrial zones that have a well-developed infrastructure in southern Italy.
The aim is to achieve a degree of standardisation and uniformity in the industrial reconstruction of the areas affected by the earthquake in 1980, and where possible to coordinate the implementation of the various initiatives. In terms of employment, the agreements calls on the social partners to reach additional agreements on greater flexibility in order to offer firms broadly homogeneous conditions with respect to decisions on locations for investment.
In this context, an agreement was recently signed between the most important trade union confederations at national level (CGIL, CISL and UIL) and, on the employers' side, "Assindustria". This agreement aims to promote the reintegration of workers who have lost their jobs (recipients of benefits from the wage-compensation funds, workers on the mobility lists and workers performing community work) and the recruitment of the long-term unemployed. The long-term unemployed are recruited at a level two pay groups lower than that corresponding to the skill profile of these jobs. After 36 months, the employment contract is converted into a permanent employment contract.
Recipients of benefits from the wage-compensation funds, workers on the mobility lists and workers performing community work are recruited at a level two pay groups lower than normal. After one year, the normal collectively agreed conditions apply. In addition, those workers lacking the qualifications required will be able to attend the necessary retraining or further training measures. In such a case, their pay group will be two groups below the normal level for a period of two years.
The agreement also makes provision for a suspension of the contract in terms of wage trends: employees will not benefit from any wage increases resulting from enterprise-level collective agreements. They will benefit, on the other hand, from the general rules set out in employment contracts and from any improvement in working conditions resulting from national collective agreements.
The agreement also stipulates the pay conditions applying to trainees. Trainees are to receive 60% of the standard wage in the first year, 80% in the following two years, and in their fourth year the normal wage.
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