Mothers' bonus to 550,000 women in the first five months of 2024. Calderone: confirmation of aid for parents

In the first five months of 2024 alone, the mothers' bonus was claimed by between 74% and 75% of those eligible. Government sources point this out. On 3 July last, the undersecretary for labour and social policies Claudio Durigon, replying in the labour commission, explained: 'As far as the operativity of the measure is concerned, I represent that the ministry of labour and social policies has carried out an in-depth investigation involving the technical offices of the INPS, which have reported that on the basis of the statistical evidence of the first months of the year (January-May) the number of female workers who are beneficiaries of the bonus for mothers was about 550,000, equal to about 75 per cent of the potential number of workers affected in the same period. The total number of female beneficiary workers is expected to grow as a result of a physiological increase over time of the launch of the new measure and the entry of new workers during the year'. On the same day, the Minister for Family, Childbirth and Equal Opportunities Eugenia Roccella emphasised during question time at the Chamber of Deputies: 'In the first five months, access to the measure was requested by more than 74 per cent of those entitled, i.e. three out of four women (Inps data)'. Figures that have since increased further, she noted.

"We have to be prudent, we have to look at the tightness of the accounts," Labour Minister Marina Calderone told Skytg24, meanwhile, regarding the statements by Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta. Calderone emphasised that the aim is to 'maintain the reduction of the contributory wedge' and the 'confirmation of theinterventions in favour of parenthood'. 'I absolutely agree that one must be prudent,' Calderone said, 'one cannot make promises that do not have attention to the keeping of accounts. But I think it is important first of all to reaffirm some commitments that have been made and that we have said we want to keep, such as that of thereduction of the contribution wedge to give important support to families, especially those with low incomes. I think it is important to reconfirm a whole series of interventions that were made last year also in favour of parenthood and therefore of families'. Calderone emphasised that 'the labour issue is fundamental', meaning, he pointed out, 'supporting collective bargaining and even more so second-level bargaining. It means investing in corporate welfare, in bonuses, in fringe benefits. That is the tool that has given us the opportunity to give greater dynamism in pay dynamics. The data, he emphasises, speak for themselves. Right now we are in a positive condition where the labour market has the highest employment rate ever. We are investing in stable work, the kind that makes people grow and allows professionalism to grow'.

In the light of the figures collected by the OECD, which show that Italy's average per capita income has grown more than the other G7 countries, "the strategy is working, now it is a matter of catching hold of the positive trend and stabilising it, with investments for productivity and employment, support for corporate welfare and, above all, promotion of collective bargaining with which to exploit all the available wage levers," said the Minister of Labour and Social Policies, Marina Elvira Calderone in an interview with 'ilSussidiario.net' on the occasion of her presence at the Rimini Meeting. Regarding the relationship with the trade unions, she continued, 'I am a firm supporter of dialogue and respect in confrontation. In recent months I have never shied away, even when I have been called into question for responsibilities that can hardly be attributed to the Minister of Labour alone. Space to reach common goals,' Calderone pointed out, 'can be found. Tangible proof of this is the path that led us to define the implementation decree for the credit licence that will come into force on 1 October, as well as the agreements for the Blutec and Ilva workers, signed by all the unions, just to mention some of the latest joint activities with the social partners on different fronts'.

"The universal single allowance in the first six months of 2024 alone went to 6.2 million households. 9.9 billion euros arrived in favour of 9.8 million children with an average amount per child that in June was 170 euros," Calderone said. This is, he argued, 'an increase in spending compared to the 18.2 billion in 2023 and the 13.2 billion in 2022 that has brought families 41.3 billion euro since it was established. These are figures to keep in mind in order to assess the complexity and impact of the instrument on society and public accounts'. As for the EU Court of Justice's action against the instrument, it has its own timeframe and procedures. "In the meantime we will make appropriate checks, just as we did when we halved the terms of residence from 10 to 5 years for the request of inclusion allowance," Calderone concludes, "compared to what was foreseen for the citizenship income on which the EU infringement procedure had been initiated.

On the labour front, 'it is essential for us to act on skills, the real node for reducing the gap between supply and demand, speeding up entry times and aiming for better wages. On these aspects, we have just revised the national system for the certification of skills, and by early autumn we expect to be able to launch the third edition of the New Skills Fund," the minister went on to explain. 'The ability of advanced economies to compete in a world of work that is changing rapidly under the impetus of digital, ecological and demographic transitions,' she noted, 'revolves around the attractiveness of the best skills. In light of the demographic curve, investment in training that is linked to demand from the world of work throughout people's working lives will be crucial. With the Labour and Employment Ministers of the G7 countries,' Calderone concluded, 'we will discuss this from 11 to 13 September in Cagliari'.