Knowing and fighting the precariat

The Italian labor market is characterized by several negative factors that make it uncompetitive at the European level. Without going into the details of an analysis that hardly fits the themes of our union, today we will analyze a critical factor of the Italian labor market, namely precarious employment. It is a cross-cutting plague of the labor market, touching different sectors of the production system. That of precariousness is a peculiar and seesaw issue, which assumes relevant dimensions to the general public only around election campaigns. Working in the field of training, today we will try to understand what this phenomenon consists of, who is afflicted by it, and what forms it takes.

What is meant by precariousness

What does it mean to be precarious? Precariousness is an employment condition with major repercussions on private life. Precariousness refers to the condition of economic and consequently social uncertainty that arises from fixed-term employment contracts. As mentioned earlier, precariousness cannot be traced to one particular sector, but as a condition of different spheres of Italy's labor-system, it is infra-sectoral. There are precarious workers in every sphere of work, from factories to services, from public administration to the private sector, from health care to schools.

Who are the precarious workers?

What is the problem with precarious work? Before we delve into the meanders of this concept, a premise is necessary: this is a huge issue. Precisely on this premise, the definition we used earlier was purposely broad, simple and vague. As is often the case, however, things are never simple and case histories can vary. A worker on a 3-year fixed-term contract falls under the definition of precarious as does a teacher who accepts a 3-month assignment in the school world. There are substantial differences between the two examples we submit, but both fall under the definition of precarious workers.

Which precarious people are we talking about

In our country, in the first half of 2023, 4.2 million workers were hired on fixed-term contracts, while there were 340,000 transformations to permanent contracts. The numbers, reportedby INPS' Observatory on Precarious Employment, tell of a strong mismatch between fixed-term and permanent contracts. As broad as the world of precariousness in Italy may be, in order to best describe what it is, it is necessary to use a category-example. Among the many available to us, we will take as an example a category of workers very dear to us, namely teachers.

The precariousness in the school world

That of the teacher is an extremely important job in the organicity of our society. Teachers are professionals whose job is to teach future generations not only notions, but also to be citizens capable of living in civilized society. Despite the high social purpose of the profession, one is not born a teacher, but becomes one. Among the categories most afflicted by precariousness are precisely teachers or would-be teachers. Every year, between August September and October, an army of young and old moves who are forced to migrate far from home. The driving force behind these moves are MADs, which stands for Messe a Disposizione.

What it means to be a precarious teacher

The precarious teacher who receives a positive outcome from sending MADs may accept or reject the call, but does not know the actual duration of employment. This could be a weekly substitution as well as an annual substitution or a quarterly substitution that is renewed for the entire school year. Those who accept are not required to know. If one is not fortunate enough to live near the location to which one has been called, the prospective teacher will have to look for a house and move, all without knowing how long he or she will work. At the end of the substitution, if it is not a yearly substitution, the ride begins again; alternatively, one is very lucky. In September the merry-go-round begins again until you become tenured.

The implications of precarity

This example, simplified as it is, is not very different from the experience of thousands of precarious workers, that is, workers who experience a condition of uncertainty stretched out over time. These workers cannot plan for the long term by virtue of lack of job continuity, and they cannot think about taking out a mortgage because they do not have an indefinite employment contract. These conditions affect the personal life of a worker who may think twice before "settling down." The case of teachers is representative of what it means to be precarious and what this condition implies. Not coincidentally, there are many studies that trace Italy's demographic winter to the number of precarious contracts in the labor market.

Why is there precarity in the world of work?

The truth is that the problem of precarity is not solvable, especially in a labor market that is still not as "liquid" as Italy's. There are structural causes that explain the spread of precariousness. In fact, this phenomenon can be interpreted as an index of the economic performance of a Country System. When one hears about business confidence, reference is made to the growth prospects that businesses have. If companies' growth prospects are low, they will be less likely to hire a permanent worker. Another preponderant factor in this context is the tax burden on companies, the highest in Europe, which helps to stimulate the use of atypical contracts.

The institutional causes of precarity

The concept of precarity has roots not too far back in time, at least in its institutionalized form. Many academics and experts in the field trace it to a series of legislative interventions that have taken hold in Europe since the 1990s. In Italy, for example, many blame the 2003 Biagi Law for the introduction of the first forms of institutionalized precariousness. Initially, there was talk of greater flexibility in the world of work, with the introduction of part-time and/or atypical contracts aimed at renewing the Italian labor market. A decade later it was realized that these types of labor contracts had created gaps that would later widen to the current situation.

When can a working condition be called precarious?

There are several factors that contribute to defining a precarious working condition. These factors are different in nature and context, but at the same time come together to create a definition of precarious work:

• type of contract;
• presence of social security coverage that protects the worker in case of maternity, unemployment sickness, etc;
• presence of instruments that can provide economic support to the worker in case of loss of employment;
• contractual immobility, or the inability to transition from precarious to permanent contracts;
• The presence of continuous changes in job duties;
• A classification below the degree;
• The time during which the labor contract continues under uncertain conditions.

  The presence/absence of these factors in a worker's working condition determines the degree of precariousness to which he or she is subjected.

What forms of precarious work exist in Italy

We have noted the existence of economic and institutional factors, causes and concauses underlying what we can call the precarious condition of many workers in Italy. Now all we have to do is report in broad strokes on the main types of precarious contracts:

• Fixed-term, 3-year contract with possibility of renewal;
• Part-time or part-time contract;
• On-call contract or intermittent work;
• administration contract;
• project contract, former co.co.co;
• seasonal labor contracts;
• apprenticeship contracts.

Our way of fighting precariousness

Our union was born out of the need to provide support and assistance to EU and non-EU citizens who intend to live in Italy. Although our efforts are directed toward foreign nationals, we care about the labor situation of our members. Thus the Academy division, dedicated to the world of training, was born. The idea behind the Project is that to improve the working condition of our associates, the first step is to provide training tools capable of enhancing the potential of workers. With this in mind, partnerships with telematic universities, vocational training institutions and certifying bodies have been established. Because for Welcome Association Italy the only way to fight precariousness is by training qualified professionals.