Italy approves new labor measures amid unions' protests

By Giada Zampano

ROME (AA) – Italy's right-wing government on Monday approved new measures aimed at helping low-income workers and boosting the country's ailing job market amid heavy criticisms from the main national unions.

The package, discussed on Labor Day by an extraordinary Cabinet meeting, pairs labor cost cuts with looser rules on short-term contracts and slims down a previous unemployment benefit scheme.

The new rules make easier for companies to offer temporary job contracts, while cutting the cost of hiring. They also introduce new fringe benefits for workers with children, up to a maximum of €3,000 ($3,300) per employee.

"We are investing in workers and families, cutting taxes up to seven percentage points for the lower incomes," said Economy and Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti on Monday. "That's a real help against the higher cost of living and a concrete response to critics."

Italy's unions and the center-left opposition have long complained that scaling back aid for the unemployed will hit the poorest part of the population struggling to find a decent job.

Maurizio Landini, head of the main union CGIL, criticized the package, saying it does not address Italy's unprecedented "level of job insecurity."​​​​​​​

He also complained about the decision by Premier Giorgia Meloni to approve the new measures on May 1, a day celebrating workers around the world, dubbing the move an "act of arrogance."