Alto Garda Pensioner Unions Collaborate with Municipalities on Service Agreements

Confederal pensioners’ trade union organizations of Alto Garda Brescia have held a series of meetings with the municipal administrations of Salò, Gardone Riviera, Toscolano Maderno, Gargnano, Tignale, Tremosine, and Limone. This process, commonly referred to as “concentration,” aims to protect the most vulnerable areas of the population, particularly pensioners and the elderly, in order to improve living conditions. Following these meetings, during which union representatives presented some requests to enhance the existing provisions in individual municipalities and the previously agreed arrangements, a series of agreements have been reached. These are part of the broader Brescia framework but naturally take into account the specific services offered by the involved municipalities.

Agreement protocols and beneficiaries

In the “agreement protocols” signed by Cgil-Cisl-Uil of Alto Garda and the municipalities, as well as in the verbal agreements reached, it is established that the services agreed upon should be provided to individuals who are part of a household with an income below the threshold indicated in an income table (the limit for a household of one person is 12.8 million lira, and for families with more than six members, it is approximately 48 million). Only the municipality of Tremosine will identify beneficiaries based on the application of the Ise (Indicator of the Economic Situation of the Household).

Municipal additional charges and tariff policies, with particular reference to water supply and sewerage charges, the costs of funeral services, home services, housing and residential policies, the local elderly observatory, and the application method of the Ise: all these issues are addressed in the agreements of the various Garda municipalities.

Derived from new provisions and incentives

Providing some general guidance on the new measures, we invite interested parties to consult directly with the Social Services of their respective municipalities, which will provide all necessary information regarding conditions and application procedures for the discounts.

Compared to previous years, the possibility of obtaining reimbursement for health tickets for medicines, visits, and tests has been improved for residents of Salò, Gardone, Toscolano Maderno, and Tremosine. In most cases, the waste tax for individual households has been reduced by one-third, and exemptions have been introduced for lower-income groups.

Those who do not exceed a certain household income threshold can obtain a contribution for heating expenses (in Tremosine: 20% up to a maximum of two million lira; in Salò: a one-time contribution to be defined). An especially indicative measure is the definition of a contribution to families caring for non-autonomous persons within their household (elderly, disabled, etc.). In the municipality of Tremosine, for the year 2000, this contribution is one million lira.

Similarly, Toscolano Maderno and Tignale are committed to developing a regulation on this matter, while others (Salò, Gardone Riviera, Gargnano, and Limone) reserve the right to address requests through their Social Services.

Union organizations’ commitment and conclusions

This year again, the Union Organizations of Pensioners of the Garda area demonstrated — asserts Giuseppe Moretti, secretary of the Cisl Pensioners’ League of Salò — that they are not only capable of providing patronage and Caaf services but also of engaging in genuine union activities for all citizens, members and non-members alike, especially those in greatest need.

We also acknowledge that the contacted municipal administrations have been attentive interlocutors and often willing to accommodate our requests.