Minimum wage, why yes and why not

Now that the minimum wage is a measure supported by a European directive, the debate moves exclusively to the national level. And the positions remain distant, for technical and ideological reasons. Not only are the political forces divided, in the large majority supporting the Draghi government with only the formal opposition of FdI, but also the social partners. It is therefore useful to go and see why they say yes and why they say no to the minimum wage. Yes, because it would drive lower wages up. It is the objective of the EU directive and also the fallout hoped for by the Minister of Labor, Andrea Orlando, who suggests the way to “renew contracts and affect lower levels of salaries: in this sense we have made a proposal for which the overall remuneration, contained in the most and comparatively most representative contracts, can become the minimum reference wage for all workers in that sector “. Yes, because it bridges a historical delay. This is the position of the Cinquestelle Movement. “The European directive on the minimum wage represents a revolution for all those countries that even today, absurdly, have not yet introduced it into their legal systems. Unfortunately, Italy is also among these countries; the 5 Star Movement has been asking for it for 9 years. years, an appeal that has remained unheard by almost all the other political forces, which over the years have hindered this fundamental reform of civilization “, wrote the Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies Stefano Patuanelli on social networks. Yes, because Europe must be listened to. It is the secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini, who uses this lever. “We must not listen to Europe only when it tells us to cut pensions or cancel article 18 or cut social spending. If at last the whole of Europe realizes that low wages and precarious workers without rights question social stability , you have to listen to it “. Yes, because it is an act of civilization. “I believe it is an act of civilization. You can’t see people working on starvation wages. Germany, for example, has just raised the minimum hourly wage to 12 euros, France has done something similar and we cannot run out of it. If the law is not considered to be good, the contracts concluded by the most representative parties can be given force, so that they apply to everyone. This is the best way for us ”, explained the president of the CNEL, and former Minister of Labor Tiziano Treu. No, because it can dismantle bargaining. This is the position of the CISL. The minimum wage is not useful and, indeed, it can be dangerous, because it could dismantle, contrary to what Europe is asking, bargaining and with it a model of democracy that has guaranteed indisputable progress and social advancement. “Let’s take as a reference the overall remuneration of the contracts signed by the most representative social forces, let’s see which contracts are most applied in the reference sectors and this is the reference salary for us. I am more interested in talking about the maximum salary than the salary minimum “, summed up the secretary Luigi Sbarra. No, because it is against our history. This is the traditionally liberal position of Forza Italia. The Minister of Public Administration Renato Brunetta clearly expressed it, adding the other key element: wages cannot and must not be moderate, but “must correspond to productivity”. No, because it is not our theme. This is the position of Confindustria. “The issue of wages is not of our relevance, because our contracts are all over 9 euros per hour, so we are neither against nor in favor: the issue of the minimum wage is how it will be built”, pointed out the president. Carlo Bonomi. No, because it is a weapon of mass distraction. It is the position of those who believe that the priorities are other. On this front Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini are closer. That of the minimum wage “seems to me to be the classic weapon of mass distraction from the problems of work in Italy, because the minimum wage concerns a slice of workers already guaranteed by the national labor contract, within which there is a tendency to a minimum wage. if you really wanted to raise wages, the best solution would be to cut the wedge, limiting it to the worker side “; explained the leader of FdI. The leader of the League is also looking the other way. “If there are no companies, there are no workers. The League’s proposals exist, fiscal peace, scrapping of tax bills, flat tax. Distributing what is not there is difficult”.