Italy approves May Day labor package amid union criticism

Italy's right-wing government on Monday approved measures to boost jobs and workers' pay, amid hostile reactions from unions and opposition parties over accompanying welfare cuts and looser rules on short-term job contracts.

Prime minister Giorgia Meloni made it easier for firms to offer job contracts lasting between 12 and 24 months and will scale back a "citizen wage" poverty relief scheme, introduced in 2019, by the end of the year.

Her administration also earmarked around 3 billion euros ($3.30 billion) for a six-month cut in the so-called tax wedge, the difference between what an employer pays and what a worker takes home, but only for employees with an annual income of no more than 35,000 euros.

"It is a concrete step against the cost-of-living crisis," Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said, adding tax cuts would be worth on average 100 euros per month.

Amid government pledges to address a national birth crisis, Rome waived taxes for this year on fringe benefits for employees with children, up to a maximum of 3,000 euros per worker.

Maurizio Landini, head of the main Italian union CGIL, criticized the package, saying wages in Italy were low due to high taxes but also because of an unprecedented "level of job insecurity."

He previously complained that approving the measures on May 1, International Workers' Day, was an "act of arrogance".

Labor Minister Marina Calderone defended the reforms, saying the government was keen to support "those who need to work but also those who want to work."