Foreign and Atypical Work Conditions Highlighted at Local Employment Forum
Flexibility of work and foreign labor were the topics of the meeting organized by the Circolo della Sinistra Giovanile Agorà, held last Saturday in the civic hall. “The distance between the two issues discussed,” said Alfredo Papa, the city secretary of Cgil, “is only apparent. Foreign workers and atypical workers are united by a condition of precariousness and uncertainty, and by the need to have their rights protected. The concept of full and good employment is important.”
“We need to think of a society where work is a value not only from an enterprise perspective but for society as a whole. The worker is first and foremost a citizen and must remain so even within the company. The significant contractual renewals on the horizon should not call into question the national contract as a solidarity-based contract applicable to all.”
Employment Contracts and Workers’ Rights
Daniele Soffiati, head of Nidil Cgil, recalled that contracts of coordinated and continuous collaboration and participation agreements are often used to mask forms of dependent work, without guaranteeing the same rights. “The idea of free bargaining is unfair,” Soffiati stated, “due to the imbalance of power between worker and employer.”
Attention is also necessary regarding temporary work. Although comparable to dependent employment in terms of guarantees and designed to manage production peaks and potentially serve as a preliminary screening before a permanent contract, it often degenerates. “Let us not forget that temporary workers move around the country and face issues related to housing and discrimination they encounter.”
Situation of Foreign Workers and Social Challenges
Abdel Majid, head of Fillea Edili Cgil, emphasized the need for foreign workers to understand laws and rights, focusing on social aspects of coexistence and the need for housing and spaces where they can express themselves. The meeting was concluded by Andrea Spoladore, head of the Circolo, who pointed out that in the United States, where the highest level of flexibility is recorded, an unemployment rate of around 4 percent corresponds to a poverty rate exceeding 10 percent, while in continental Europe, the two indices are substantially aligned.
This suggests that perhaps Europe teaches that employment is also a tool in the fight against poverty, not just a response to production needs.
