Government clampdown on maxi salaries in the Pa: increases only for 12 senior officials

Here comes the government's clampdown on maxi salaries in the Pa. The Consulta has removed the old threshold that executive salaries could not exceed. But this will not mean an unconditional green light for increases. The circular prepared by the Minister of the Public Administration, Paolo Zangrillo, with which the matter will be regulated, could see the light this week. Public administrations will be asked to postpone salary adjustments, which will only be triggered if specific resources are provided.

At the moment, only the salaries of a dozen or so grand commis who, with the decision annulled by the Constitutional Court, had seen their earnings reduced, will be able to increase - due to the legal decision and not to political will. In January, however, the matter will be definitively regulated by a Prime Ministerial Decree (Dpcm) that will introduce new criteria, oriented on merit, given that the indication of a threshold, justified in the past only to cope with an economic emergency, is no longer permitted after the Constitutional Court's ruling.

The rules, on the other hand, will not affect the powers of constitutional bodies, which enjoy decision-making autonomy, such as the Cnel led by Renato Brunetta, which had decided to increase salaries above the old threshold, or authorities protected by European regulations such as Bankitalia. On the latter, the president of Forza Italia's senators, Maurizio Gasparri calls for intervention: "they cannot live in an untouchable paradise," he says, pointing out that "the economic treatments, from the top to the bottom, are unjustifiably high.

In any case, the circular that Zangrillo has been preparing over the past few months and that, after the controversy surrounding the president of the Cnel, could soon be issued. in view of the forthcoming regulatory measures on the matter, to be adopted in execution of the aforementioned ruling," reads the text of the first draft of the circular, "it is deemed appropriate, in order to avoid any disparities in treatment, or recognitions that are not in line with the initiatives that will be adopted, to postpone the redetermination of remuneration that, in any case, could only take place in the presence of resources that can be allocated for the purpose within those allocated for staff salaries.

The circular would also provide 'applicative clarifications' of the ruling, with the possibility of some exemptions. The increases would be triggered for 12 senior officials: these include the presidents of the Court of Cassation, the Court of Auditors, the Court of Cassation, the Council of State and the Tax Court, as well as the chief of police and other grand commis. For the heads of the ministries' departments, on the other hand, it will be necessary to wait for the new rules of the Dpcm, which will link compensation to merit and also to available resources.