The (Failed) Reform of Article 18
in Italian Politics
On Friday, 17 August 2001, right in the middle of the summer break,
while awaiting the first provisions of the newly established second
Berlusconi government, the issue of dismissals hit the headlines once
again. During his speech at the San Domenico Abbey in Sora, Antonio
Fazio, governor of the Bank of Italy, called for “greater freedom for
companies to dismiss their employees.” This request was immediately
met by positive reactions among entrepreneurs and negative ones
among unions. According to the Confederation of Italian Industry
(Confindustria), there was a need to “focus attention on the problem
of competitiveness and, as a consequence, on job flexibility.” Presenting
an opposing view, Savino Pezzotta, secretary general of the CISL
union confederation, said: “The problem is not one of laying people
off, but of taking them on.” Luigi Angeletti, general secretary of the
UIL union confederation, labeled as “false” the argument that in Italy
it is difficult to fire people. Finally, Gian Paolo Patta, secretary of the
CGIL union confederation, said: “Fazio now sounds like Berlusconi
and panders to Confindustria.” Pandering to the industrialists’ needs
was something that the CGIL had been accusing the government of
since the convention held in Parma in April 2001, when Silvio Berlusconi
pointed out the similarity between his electoral program and the
one presented by the entrepreneurs.
