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5 February, 2002Center-right government wants to make it easier for companies to lay off workers.
ITALY: Interviewed by Reuters at the recent World Economic Forum in New York, Antonio D'Amato, the president of the Italian employers' association Confindustria, stated that his country needed to reform labour laws in order to make it easier for employers to eliminate jobs. He said: "In Italy, you can divorce your wife since the 1970s even with the Vatican there, but you cannot divorce from your workers."
Last week 600,000 members of the three largest union confederations in Italy, including many IMF-affiliated metalworkers, disrupted production when they went on a four-hour strike in the region of Milan to protest the center-right government's attempts to change Article 18 of the country's labour law and make it easier to lay off workers.
Under current law, workers who are dismissed without "just cause" can demand to be reinstated. However, if the proposed reform goes through, it would mean any company which has over 15 workers would no longer be required to rehire laid-off employees.
Last week 600,000 members of the three largest union confederations in Italy, including many IMF-affiliated metalworkers, disrupted production when they went on a four-hour strike in the region of Milan to protest the center-right government's attempts to change Article 18 of the country's labour law and make it easier to lay off workers.
Under current law, workers who are dismissed without "just cause" can demand to be reinstated. However, if the proposed reform goes through, it would mean any company which has over 15 workers would no longer be required to rehire laid-off employees.