A backtrack on cuts to the pensions of doctors and other public employees is increasingly likely. The Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci has in fact spoken of a review. Meanwhile, the unions are preparing a series of demonstrations against the budget law and the International Monetary Fund advises Palazzo Chigi to do more for reforms and economic growth
“There is every intention and interest in trying to review the rule, which not only concerns doctors but also other public sector employees and therefore the government is working to find a solution”. Even the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci is of the opinion that the part of the maneuver that provides for a reduction in pensions needs to be changed for those – including doctors, nurses and thousands of other public employees – who will leave their jobs from next year.
Pension cuts, up to a quarter will be lost
The minister confirmed this to Sky Tg24, after other members of the government had made it clear that the slimming treatment needs to be reviewed. Without corrections, these public employees who started working in the mid-1980s would suffer a cut that, in the worst cases, would amount to a quarter of their pension.
Medical unions: from words to deeds
However, it is unlikely that the Executive will completely give up on a crackdown. The doctors’ unions, meanwhile, will not back down from the strike scheduled for December 5th if – they say – there are no concrete actions, not only on pensions but also on new hires and salary increases. For the latter, the financial institution allocates over two billion, out of a total of three additional to the health fund. Among the objectives is to eliminate patient waiting lists in a context that sees our country among those that spend the least in Europe for this sector in relation to the wealth produced.
CGIL and UIL take to the streets against the move
But it’s not just the white coats who are protesting against the move. “Work, taxes and social security. We believe that the maneuver does not provide answers to our requests”, explains the secretary of the Uil Pierpaolo Bombardieri, who lists the reasons that will bring his union together with the CGIL to the streets in the coming weeks, with eight-hour strikes in various cities and in different days starting from November 17th (the CISL will mobilize separately on November 25th).
Landini: taxes weigh more heavily on workers and pensioners
Palazzo Chigi would not do enough to ensure that wages and pensions keep pace with inflation, to combat tax evasion and to lighten the burden of taxes on workers. Thus the leader of the CGIL Maurizio Landini: “We continue to have a system in which equal incomes pay different taxes. If I have an income from work or a pension I pay up to 30-40%; if I have real estate, financial or other income, the taxation is lower”.
IMF: more reforms to stimulate growth
Meanwhile, the opinion of the International Monetary Fund has arrived on the budget law. The advice sent to Rome is to be more ambitious, with reforms to stimulate growth, seen by Washington as rising by 0.7% in 2024, against the 1.2 estimated by the government, and to bring forward adjustments to the public budget. It is crucial to spend well – add the IMF – the Pnrr funds.
Source-tg24.sky.it