President Meloni’s address at CISL National Assembly

Good morning everyone, and thank you for this welcome.

My thanks to Secretary General Sbarra and to all of CISL [Italian Confederation of Workers’ Unions] for this invitation, which I was glad to accept for a number of reasons. 

Firstly, to show the deep respect that I have for one of our nation’s main labour organisations, which is getting ready to celebrate its 75th anniversary, on 30 April this year, so is a little older than I am. 

Secondly, to once again stress the importance this Government attributes to dialogue with production sectors, local areas, workers and businesses because, at the end of the day, no one alone can have all the answers, and the ability to listen undoubtedly makes the difference, especially when those you are discussing with are not condescending or prejudiced, but rather focus honestly on merit. 

After all, that is precisely what the etymology of the Italian word ‘confronto’ (meaning comparison/discussion) says: to compare one thing with another in order to assess similarities or differences, with the sole objective of achieving a positive result. This is precisely what we have done over this period of more than two years. In other words, we have compared our respective viewpoints and proposals; sometimes they have been different, other times similar, but every time we have discussed we have made progress. Progress for workers’ rights, progress for the quality of our production system, progress for the growth of our nation. This is what we have done over the last two years, and I must therefore express my sincere thanks to CISL for still knowing how to engage in discussion, in the noblest sense of the word.

The third reason I am here is because this assembly is being held at an important moment in time for CISL. The General Council will be meeting tomorrow to elect the organisation’s future leadership, and this will of course be an exercise in democracy, which cannot go unnoticed by those like me whose long political career has taught them the value of moments like this, the value that moments like this have for the vitality and solidness of our democracy. With this happening, however, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Luigi Sbarra, for whom this will be the last assembly as Secretary General. 

That was an easy round of applause, Gigi. Luigi Sbarra has been frank, determined and honest in our discussions, and your applause for him today clearly shows you are well aware of that. When Luigi Sbarra says, and I quote, “if Italy wants to look to the present and to the future, it needs to leave behind a 20th century characterised by prejudice, antagonism and ideological furore”, similar words to the ones he repeated this morning, it is not just him stating principles. He has walked the talk and I have seen him do it. And in so doing, I believe he has helped workers a lot, because the Government has always listened to him with great respect, trying, where it could, to accommodate the common sense demands he put forward. What is the role of a trade unionist if not this? Earning the respect necessary to ensure those you are talking to pay attention to those demands. And even when we didn’t agree, because we have also had disagreements, we knew we were talking with someone who cared about workers’ well-being; not just the interests of the organisation they were representing or even the interests of a political group, but the well-being of workers.

And so, together with CISL, we have worked on the concrete problems facing citizens. I am of course certain that this collaboration will also continue with the next Secretary General, who you will elect tomorrow. The problems we have tackled of course include the key issue of labour, which is perhaps this Government’s top priority in its work. This can be seen by the numerous initiatives we have implemented to provide hiring incentives, to support businesses that create jobs and to mitigate a number of inflexibilities in the labour market, without this leading to less safeguards for workers. This can also be seen by the results certified by Istat [Italian National Institute of Statistics]: record employment, record female employment, a record number of workers with a permanent contract, a fall in temporary contracts, the lowest unemployment rate since 2007. Then there is the, albeit insufficient, turnaround regarding pay increases for workers. We have prioritised providing support for purchasing power, in particular for the lowest earning workers. 

We have done this by cutting taxes on productivity bonuses and fringe benefits, but above all by investing the majority of the limited resources available to us in reducing the social security contribution and then tax wedge by as much as seven points. I remember that when we entered office, some said we would not succeed in confirming the reduction in the tax and social security contribution wedge that had been provided for by the previous government. That’s not how things went; we have confirmed it, significantly strengthened it and made it structural in nature, as the union demanded. In our most recent budget law, we expanded the benefits for approximately 1.3 million workers with annual earnings of between EUR 35,000 and EUR 40,000. We also succeeded in getting banks and insurance companies to contribute to funding these measures. I am mentioning this because I consider it a clear step change compared with the times when proceeds from workers’ taxes would be used to support banks and insurance companies, without this leading to any calls for a social uprising.

Does this mean that everything is fine? No, of course not. Challenges are multiplying, but the point is that I am aware that we can only deal with them if we work together, with the same concrete approach as we have taken over the last two years. Challenges are multiplying, and I can’t mention all of them as I only have a limited amount of time for this speech, but I will refer to a few.

There is undoubtedly the issue of the ‘demographic winter’, which is not only affecting Italy but Europe too, and this clearly has huge implications for the sustainability of our social system, how services are organised and the resilience of the labour market. Over the last 20 years, we have lost 2.2 million workers under the age of 35, while the number of workers aged over 50 has doubled. Trade unions clearly understand the impact of this, much better than I do. Quite simply, it is a system that we are not capable of supporting in the long term, which is why we have decided to address this issue too. I am proud to be able to say that this government has finally given the issue of the birth rate and demographics the central importance it deserves, because this is primarily an economic matter. How? We are gradually implementing a package of concrete measures, while also supporting a new and different culture around having children, conveying the message that a child being born is always positive, and never negative. This of course means that we as the Government need to remove the obstacles that have too often made parenthood seem incompatible with personal fulfilment; this is the reasoning behind measures such as extending parental leave or providing tax relief for working mothers.

Similarly, with regard to investing in the future, I believe that another major challenge lies in working to ensure that this nation’s young people can contribute to Italy’s growth in the best way possible, and this goal can primarily be achieved by developing their skills. The mismatch between the skills required by companies and the skills held by job seekers is another huge challenge we must address if we want to escape the paradox whereby there are businesses in this nation today that can’t find workers and workers who can’t get a job, simply because there is a lack of alignment between the expertise that is needed and the expertise that workers have. This is a long-standing issue which we have talked about many times, and it is companies that pay the price for this in terms of competitiveness just as much as workers. We know there are too many workers who are often overqualified for their role or are employed in a different field to the one they studied for. 

All this is obviously affected by another great challenge we are facing, which is the advent of artificial intelligence. As you know, the Italian Presidency of the G7 last year focused precisely on the impact of artificial intelligence on the labour market, which was one of the key issues we chose to discuss with our partners. Why? Quite simply because we are moving towards a world in which more and more workers risk no longer being necessary. Quite simply because, in modern times, we have become used to skills being replaced, but in the past the focus was mainly on physical labour, allowing workers to improve their position, so to speak, and dedicate themselves more to concept-based work and organisational tasks. Now, it is intellect that risks being replaced, with huge and potentially devastating consequences even for the most highly qualified workers, and wealth risks becoming increasingly concentrated and ‘verticalised’ if we do not govern this process. And we are already late. How can this process be governed? I believe the key challenge is above all to build the foundations for a labour market that still has a place for labourers, technicians and professionals, who will perhaps do the same job in a different way. Also in this regard, this above all means working to support workers during this transformation, which means a very extensive reskilling and upskilling programme throughout their lives and in the workplace. 

In the same way, it is crucial to intervene and invest in education systems and active labour market policies, again to bridge the gap we have spoken about. We have already taken the first steps in this direction: I am thinking of the review of active labour market policies, the reform of technical-vocational education and training, the creation of the ‘Made in Italy’ high school which encompasses both humanities and STEM subjects, funding for career guidance and the ‘scientific degree plan’.

We have discussed these many challenges and will continue to do so together, because the Government has no intention of working alone on such matters, and undoubtedly has a lot to learn from those who experience, in the workplace and on a daily basis, the problems we are talking about.

Dear Secretary General Sbarra, dear CISL managers and delegates, this assembly is entitled ‘the courage of participation’. This is certainly an evocative title, but it is above all a title that regards another major challenge that Secretary General Sbarra also mentioned in his speech, which is basically about innovating our economic and production model by being able to combine subsidiarity and growth. This primarily means rebuilding the dynamics between companies and workers, overcoming once and for all that toxic, conflict-based approach which some still insist on maintaining also in the world of trade unions. 

Rebuilding the dynamics between companies and workers means laying the foundations for a new alliance between employers and employees, based on a sharing of responsibilities and rewards. Encouraging workers to participate in the future of the companies they work for, increasing welfare policies, strengthening the role of local and company-level bargaining to overcome the inflexibilities of national agreements, without compromising on safeguards for workers. These are some of the points of an ‘engagement renaissance’ that a modern nation which makes social cohesion its hallmark must pursue. This is why we did not hesitate to support the bill of popular initiative regarding worker participation, which CISL put forward and which has become the draft text under discussion in Parliament.

I would also personally like to add, Secretary General Sbarra, because we mentioned that we had talked about this even before I became the Head of Government, that this support is not, so to speak, superficial or just an attempt to please. I come from a political background that throughout its history has made the issue of worker participation one of the defining points of its economic agenda. As has been mentioned, this is the reason why the Government has guaranteed coverage of EUR 72 million for 2025 and will continue to do its part to get the green light for this as soon as possible, because approving a law on workers’ participation in company management will enable us to finally implement article 46 of the Constitution, 77 years on. I believe this would be a historic achievement, for workers and companies alike, finally fulfilling an extraordinary vision of our founding fathers. This is therefore a great responsibility and one we do not intend to ignore. We owe this to Italy, to our workers and to our companies, who are the heart, mind and strength of this extraordinary nation; as I always like to say (because in Italy we always like to highlight the things that don’t work more than the things that do), this nation can still amaze, this nation can still chart the course ahead, but we must believe in this together.

And so, together – and I shall come to a close – we can rebuild the same widespread vitality and social mobility that during the best years of the post-war period, also with the help of CISL, generated new companies created by employees, increased ownership among the middle class, and boosted wealth, employment and the birth rate. In short, dear friends at CISL, we are united by our optimistic will and a sense of life that always leads us to look towards others and to look beyond. I know that, with respect for each other’s roles, we will continue to work very well in the years to come. This is why I want to thank you, for supporting this Government’s difficult work with your legitimate demands, with your authority and with your professionalism, always focusing on the rights and needs of Italian workers above all else. 

Thank you.