Jubilee 2025: more smart working in Rome to reduce traffic and inconveniences

More smart working, wherever possible, to immediately relieve traffic congestion in the capital and pressure on public transport, easing the inconvenience caused by the hundreds of construction sites open in Rome two and a half months before the start of the Jubilee 2025. This is the proposal put forward by the mayor Roberto Gualtieri, in his capacity as extraordinary government commissioner for the Holy Year, to the city's employers' and trade union organisations. The CGIL exults, lukewarm reception from businesses.

At the meeting, held today in the Sala delle Bandiere in the Campidoglio in the presence of the councillors for Personnel and Productive Activities, Andrea Catarci and Monica Lucarelli, the director general of the Lazio Region, Alessandro Ridolfi, and the chief of staff of the Metropolitan City, Francesco Nazzaro, Gualtieri outlined the objective of implementing "a series of actions to strengthen and promote smart working in the months leading up to the Jubilee in order to lighten the burden of traffic on the city, which is particularly critical in central areas". At the table, in addition to Cgil, Cisl and Uil for workers, were representatives of Unindustria, Confcommercio Roma, Confartigianato Roma, Legacoop, Federlazio, Cna, Cciaa, Confcooperative, Agci, Abi, Ance and Acer, Coldiretti, Confagricoltura and Cia.

A note from the Campidoglio informs of the 'substantial agreement on the opportunity represented by the agreement, which will then be concretely defined by company bargaining'. In the next few hours work will be done to draw up a framework agreement, renewable also in the following months, to set the target for the strengthening of smart working (the hypothesis is at least one day more than what is already envisaged in each company), which will then be completed at company bargaining level, "without reducing productivity". This is the real unknown, which justifies the less than warm welcome from the employers, from Unindustria to Confcommercio, who said they were willing to reach an agreement in principle, claiming, however, the freedom to postpone any choice to a consultation table between the individual company and the unions. Many activities, not only in the commercial and service sectors, are already feeling the effects of the work in progress, particularly in some critical areas around the Vatican. Where the 'patience' repeatedly asked of residents and shopkeepers is at its limits.

The intention of Roma Capitale is to 'infect' also the many other public administrations that have offices in the city: a similar meeting will be convened shortly with the Civil Service and the unions. The Campidoglio has set an example, signing an agreement with the unions for at least two days of smart working for all staff who perform tasks that do not require physical presence, extendable to five days. Exulted the Fp CGIL of Rome and Lazio: "This is an important and first result of our mobilisation to help improve mobility, air quality and the lives of all citizens and workers. Now we expect that smart working will also be strengthened for the 45,000 workers of the companies in which Roma Capitale has a shareholding".

Starting immediately with the increase in remote working also means being able to test whether the experiment works and extend it - data in hand - if with the arrival of the 32 million pilgrims expected in the city the situation should prove unsustainable. For this reason, Gualtieri recalled the importance of enhancing the use of remote work as soon as possible wherever it is feasible in the coming months. On 24 December, with the opening of the Holy Door by Pope Francis, the Holy Year will kick off. The administration's hope is that by that date 'all major construction and maintenance work on public transport lines' will be completed. But preparing a plan B is better.