After last week’s meeting with the employers’ associations, today the meeting with the representatives of Cigl, Cisl and Uil. Article 33 of the Budget Bill, i.e. the rule that revises the rates of return for the allowances of different categories of public employees
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After the first face-to-face meeting with representatives of the employers’ associations on Friday 24 November, the government meets the unions today. On the agenda of the meeting, which is taking place at Palazzo Chigi, is the manoeuvre, more specifically the changes that the executive intends to make to the budget bill, being examined by the Senate, starting with those on pensions. Changes which, as anticipated by the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti to the representatives of the companies during the summit with the executive last week, will enter into a maxi amendment of the government to the provision, expected, at this point, shortly after the second half of the talks.
Participating in the meeting at Palazzo Chigi, on behalf of the Government, are the deputy prime ministers, Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini, the ministers Giancarlo Giorgetti, Francesco Lollobrigida, Marina Calderone, Raffaele Fitto and the deputy minister Valentino Valentini. Present were Cgil (Landini), Cisl (Sbarra), Uil (Bombardieri), Ugl (Capone), Cida (Cuzzilla), Cisal (Cavallaro), Confentità (Visconti), Confsal (Margiotta), Usb (Fiorentini).
The Government’s maxi-amendment is coming
In the maxi-amendment to the budget law there will be the expected modification on pensiongovernment workers and doctors. This involves correcting article 33 of the budget bill, i.e. the rule that revises the rates of return for the allowances of different categories of public employees. The intervention, which translates into substantial cuts to the allowances of the categories involved, has unleashed the wrath of doctors, raised doubts of constitutionality, as well as foreshadowing the risk of an escape from the public. In particular, as the law is currently written, the pension would be cut for 732 thousand public workers in twenty years, including 55,600 doctors.
One of the latest hypotheses taken into consideration by the Ministries of Labor and Health, as well as by the Mef, is: no restrictions for doctors and full protection of all old-age benefits, with the maintenance of cuts only on retirement pensions of employees of local authorities, teachers and bailiffs. The unknown – coverages – still remains. In fact, we need to find a solution that allows us to keep the balances unchanged. The squeeze in fact guarantees substantial savings, which will grow progressively over the years from 11.5 million net in 2024 to 2.27 billion in 2043. In any case, the government’s objective remains that of safeguarding healthcare personnel.
The squeeze on doctors’ pensions
Just i medici they are on a war footing, so much so that they have announced that, if they were not to be there novelty, will strike on December 5th. What infuriated them was precisely the entry of the rule on pensions which modifies the return on the salary portion (prior to 1996) of pensions paid from 2024. The reform reduces the rates of return on contributions paid between 1981 and 1995, affecting the staff currently in service with an estimated loss of between 5% and 25% of the annual pension allowance, to be multiplied by the average life expectancy. A measure that would push 6 thousand doctors with pension requirements to leave immediately, in addition to at least 13 thousand nurses.
«After so many words and good intentions, we would therefore have expected a real change of direction that would put the National Health Service at the centre, and instead – warn the doctors’ unions – we were targeted by the cut in the social security allowance of between 5% and 25% per year, a blow that affects around 50,000 employees. And we are not reassured by the statements released in recent days by government officials regarding possible partial changes to the provision, and not its complete elimination”.