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Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Italy (Ratification: 1930)

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Replies received to the issues raised in a direct request which do not give rise to further comments (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, which answers the points raised in its previous direct request and has no further matters to raise in this regard.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Article 3(1) of the Convention. Methods for fixing the minimum wage. The Committee notes the inter-confederation agreement of 15 April 2009 amending the protocol of 3 July 1993 on labour costs, especially the provisions relating to the mechanism and criteria for revising minimum wage rates set by collective agreement. It notes that point 2 of the aforementioned agreement provides for a three-yearly review of the minimum wage rates set by collective agreement, instead of the two-yearly review stipulated by the 1993 protocol, and replaces the anticipated inflation rate with a new projected index based on the European Union’s Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP). Moreover, the Committee notes the indications in the Government’s report that wage increases now depend on three factors: pay rises fixed by national branch collective agreements, pay rises provided for by local or enterprise collective agreements and linked in particular with meeting the economic objectives of the enterprise, and the “pay guarantee component” for workers whose pay depends exclusively on national wage rates for lack of a collective agreement in their enterprise. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information in its next report on the implementation of the new system for indexing minimum wage rates to the three-year projected index and also on the entity which will be responsible for drawing up this three-year forecast.

Furthermore, the Committee notes that, according to the Government’s explanations, the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) does not have any direct information on the minimum wage rates applied in the “non-observed economy”; the latter are therefore evaluated through an indirect method by ascribing to workers in an irregular situation the same pay, without the social deductions, as that enjoyed by an officially registered worker occupying the same type of post in the same sector of economic activity. Though aware of the problems involved in the collection of data relating to the non-observed economy, the Committee observes that this analogy-based method perhaps does not provide the best reflection of the reality of minimum wage levels applied in this sector of the economy. With reference to its previous comment, in which it noted that the informal economy was estimated to account for some 15 per cent of total employment in the country, the Committee recalls that the objective of the Convention is to ensure a decent wage for workers who do not have the benefit of an effective wage-fixing system and who are occupied in industries where wages are exceptionally low. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or contemplated to ensure that workers employed in the “non observed economy” are entitled to a minimum wage compatible with maintaining a decent standard of living for themselves and their families.

Article 3(2)(3). Abatement (reduction) of wage rates by collective agreement. The Committee notes that, according to point 7 of the inter-confederation agreement of 28 June 2011, local or enterprise collective agreements may, especially on an experimental or temporary basis, depart from the provisions of national branch collective agreements, within the limits laid down by the latter. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether these provisions are likely to apply to national minimum wage rates set by collective agreement and, if so, to provide further information on any use made of this facility, including copies of national branch collective agreements providing for the possibility of departing from the fixed minimum wage rate and copies of local or enterprise collective agreements departing from the minimum wage rate for their branch of activity.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the general statistics provided in the Government’s report which show that in 2010 the inspection services inspected 262,014 workplaces, i.e. 14 per cent of enterprises established in the national territory and, in this context, reported infringements in 66 per cent of them and identified 57 per cent of workers as being in an irregular situation. It also notes that 5,125 reports of infringements, i.e., one third of the total number reported by the inspectorate, were followed by regularization and 9,923 reports of infringements yielded rulings in favour of the employees concerned. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide up-to-date information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, minimum wage rates in force and the number of different categories of workers covered by the regulations on minimum wage rates, and sending copies of extracts of reports of the inspection services specifically concerning infringements relating to the payment of minimum wages and the corrective measures taken.

Finally, while noting the Government’s indications that a Bill aimed at introducing a national interoccupational minimum wage was submitted to Parliament in March 2009, the Committee recalls that, further to the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the ILO Governing Body considered that Conventions Nos 26 and 99 were two of the instruments which were no longer fully up to date and that the ratification of the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), should be encouraged because it continues to respond to current requirements (GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40). The Committee therefore again requests the Government to contemplate the possibility of ratifying Convention No. 131 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken in this regard.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

The Committee notes with interest the detailed information contained in the Government’s report and attached documents in reply to its previous comments. It notes in particular the explanations concerning the system of establishing minimum wages principally through sectoral collective agreements and subsidiarily by judicial decision pursuant to sections 2099 and 1481 of the Civil Code and article 36 of the Constitution. Further, the Committee notes the criteria set out in the Protocol on the cost of labour signed by the Government and its social partners in July 1993, according to which minimum wages in sectoral agreements must be reviewed in the light of anticipated inflation rate, existing employment and income policies, general economic and labour market trends, the competitive climate and trends specific to the sector.

The Committee notes that according to the “Structure of earnings” statistical survey prepared by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) and annexed to the Government’s report, some 540,000 employees, or 7.1 per cent of the total workforce, are not covered by any collective agreement either at the national, local or enterprise level. The lowest wages are paid in the textile and food industries, construction, transport and communication, and hotels and restaurants. Although the average hourly wage rate for these categories of workers represents 75 per cent of the average wage in the private non-agricultural sector and therefore is not particularly low, the ISTAT’s survey does not cover the informal economy, which is estimated to account for approximately 15 per cent of total employment and which probably pays very low wages. Recalling that the Convention seeks to ensure decent wage levels for those low-paid workers not enjoying the protection of collectively negotiated pay conditions, the Committee requests the Government to provide additional information concerning the minimum wage rates practised in the so-called non-observed economy (NOE), the manner in which those rates are fixed or adjusted and the possible participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations in the minimum wage‑fixing process.

Finally, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the conclusion of the ILO Governing Body on the continued relevance of the Convention based on the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40). In fact, the Governing Body has decided that Conventions Nos 26 and 99 are among those instruments which may no longer be fully up to date but remain relevant in certain respects. The Committee therefore suggests that the Government should consider the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), which marks certain advances compared to older instruments on minimum wage fixing, for instance, as regards its broader scope of application, the requirement for a comprehensive minimum wage system, and enumeration of the criteria for the determination of minimum wage levels. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

The Committee notes the report provided by the Government and the comments made by the employers’ organization CONFINDUSTRIA. The Government recalls that, in accordance with section 2099 of the Civil Code, the fixing of wages, and therefore minimum wages, is a matter for collective bargaining between the social partners. It adds that in the absence of collective agreements it is for the judges to establish, by virtue of the same provision, the remuneration of workers taking into account, where necessary, the opinion of the social partners. CONFINDUSTRIA adds that a collective agreement is only binding on the signatory organizations, but may be adopted and applied by non-member enterprises within the limits set by article 36 of the Italian Constitution. In this regard, recalling that the objective of the Convention is the creation and maintenance of machinery whereby minimum rates of wages can be fixed for workers employed in trades in which no arrangements exist for the effective regulation of wages by collective agreement or otherwise and in which wages are exceptionally low, that is lower than the average wage earned in the country by workers in organized industries, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether there exist at the national level trades or parts of trade answering to these specifications. If so, the Committee wonders whether recourse to judges where there is no applicable collective agreement, as provided by the national legislation, fulfils the requirement set forth in the Convention for the creation of a system for the fixing of minimum wages. In the system that is currently applicable, such wages are fixed on a case-by-case basis and require the initiation of legal action by the worker against the employer. Furthermore, it is not a preliminary arrangement as required by the Convention. Moreover, with regard to the obligation for the social partners to be associated in equal numbers and on equal terms, the Committee notes that, while agreeing with the Government that they may be consulted by the judge for the purposes of determining wages, such consultation does not appear to be compulsory. With a view to enabling it to assess more fully the operation of the minimum wage fixing machinery in practice, the Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information, including statistics, on the number of workers whose wages have been determined by judicial decision, the number of workers who are not covered by collective agreements establishing minimum wages and the branches in which there are no collective agreements fixing minimum wages. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would provide fuller information on the arrangements for the participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations in the determination of minimum wages in sectors in which no arrangements exist for the effective regulation of wages by collective agreement or where wages are exceptionally low.

Finally, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information in future reports on changes in minimum wage rates, and in particular on the criteria taken into account for their adjustment, such as the anticipated inflation rate, in the absence of a system of indexation as it existed previously, as well as the measures of supervision intended to ensure the effective enforcement of minimum wage provisions.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

The Committee notes the information supplied in the Government's report. It requests the Government to continue to provide, in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention, in conjunction with point V of the report form, general information on the application of the Convention in practice, for instance: (i) the minimum wage rates in force; (ii) the available data on the number and different categories of workers covered by minimum wage provisions; and (iii) the results of inspections carried out (e.g. the number of violations of minimum wage provisions revealed, the penalties imposed, etc.).

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

The Committee notes the information supplied in the Government's report, including the information concerning homeworkers, as well as the comments made by the Italian Confederation of Commerce and Tourism and the Italian Union of Labour on the application of the Convention, which were communicated with the report.

The Committee notes, in particular, that the wage indexing system called "scala mobile (the sliding scale)" has been suspended since May 1992 and that the protocol on incomes policy, the fight against inflation and labour costs signed on 31 July 1992 by the Government and the social partners, noting this suspension, lays down an across-the-board wage supplement.

The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying information on the development in this respect as well as on the results, in general, of the application of the minimum wage fixing machinery, including, for example, the approximate numbers of workers covered, the minimum rates of wages fixed, and the more important of the other conditions, if any, established relevant to the minimum rates, in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention.