PROTECTION OF WORKERS. — The protection or safeguarding of labour is a principle common to contemporary States, often proclaimed in constitutional charters or in specific instruments, and defined in numerous laws, with regard to bodies or entities responsible for elaboration, application, assistance, control, as well as the establishment, execution, and termination of labour relations.
Italy, with a formula different from those found in texts of other countries, proclaims itself a democratic Republic “based on labour” (art. 1), labour which it “safeguards in all its forms and applications” (art. 35 et seq.). In line with numerous other constitutions, it further proclaims on the one hand that every citizen has the duty to engage, according to their abilities and choice, in an activity or function that contributes to the material or spiritual progress of society, and on the other hand recognises the right to work for all citizens (art. 4). A full juridical recognition, as a subjective right, would imply the recognition of the passive subject of the relationship (i.e., the employer), which may occur in a collectivist regime where economic activity is centralised in the State; but not in systems where private initiative is free (art. 41), since in these the entrepreneur is free to establish, organise, and direct the enterprise. However, a subjective right (with compensation for damages in case of non-compliance) may exist if and when limits are imposed, for example, by requiring a minimum number of employees and at the same time a ranking system for employment; or by imposing a percentage of employees from certain categories (again with ranking); or finally by blocking (i.e., prohibiting) dismissals.
But the right to work constitutes above all a guiding principle of socio-economic policy, since full employment represents the primary and greatest protection of workers and an essential factor of well-being and order. The Italian Constitution therefore adds that the Republic promotes the conditions that make this right effective (art. 4). When full employment is not possible, adequate provision must be made through insurance against involuntary unemployment (cf. art. 38).
Among the special bodies to be mentioned first for Italy (partially analogous, in this respect, to other countries) is the National Council for the Economy and Labour, envisaged by the Constitution itself but not yet established (after the Higher Labour Council, which ceased to function in 1925, along with its annexed office established in 1902). It is to be composed, in ways to be specified by law currently under approval, of experts and representatives of productive sectors, in numbers reflecting their numerical and qualitative importance. It is an advisory body to the Chambers and the Government; it has legislative initiative (as was also envisaged for the Economic Council of Germany under the Weimar Constitution of 1919) and can contribute to the drafting of economic and social legislation within the principles and limits established by law (art. 99), which could extend the Council’s functions to other fields, such as the settlement of collective disputes.
The French Constitution of 1946 provides that the Economic Council must be consulted obligatorily on the establishment of a national economic plan aimed at full employment of people and the rational utilisation of material resources (cf. art. 25).
In many States, a specific Ministry is established to direct labour policy and public administration. In Italy, it oversees services related to studies, research, statistics, etc., in matters of labour, social security, and welfare; the mediation of labour disputes for the stipulation or revision of collective agreements; the preparation of draft laws and the application of existing norms; it supervises internal migration, the activities of cooperative societies, vocational training, employment services, etc. In addition to central commissions (such as those for job placement and assistance to the unemployed, and for the lists of workers and unified contributions in agriculture), it has local bodies such as provincial and regional labour and full employment offices, which, among other tasks, engage in the conciliation of individual and collective local disputes (the director of the office presides over the provincial placement commission); and labour inspectors, established with various changes since 1906 (regional circles, interprovincial or provincial offices, in addition to a central office and a medical inspectorate), primarily tasked with controlling compliance by enterprises with labour protection norms, with broad powers, particularly in matters of safety. “Emigration centres” may be established by the Ministry, in a number not exceeding five, to assist emigrant workers or those repatriated and their families. Some other Ministries also perform functions of worker protection within their specific competence, such as the Ministries of Industry and Trade, Transport, and Merchant Marine, which act through, among other bodies, the mining inspectorate (for safety in mining industries), the inspection circles for civil motorisation and concessionary transport (for accident prevention), and port labour offices (which have councils attached to them). The protection of emigrant workers is the specific task of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among territorial bodies, the regions (and in particular those with special statutes) have normative powers, albeit very limited, in the aforementioned matter. Of paramount importance are social security institutions and trade unions, as well as the International Labour Organisation (v.). Among the most notable institutions are also: E.N.A.L. (National Body for the Assistance of Workers; transformation of the National Opera for After-Work Activities, dating back to 1925), aimed at promoting recreational, artistic, and cultural activities during workers’ free time and coordinating initiatives of similar bodies; the National Body for the Assistance of Orphans of Italian Workers; the National Opera for the Protection of Maternity and Childhood (also independent of working categories); the National Opera for the Protection of Pensioners of Italy (for all categories of social security); the National Body for Propaganda on Accident Prevention; the National Institute for the Training and Improvement of Industrial Workers; the National Body for Vocational Training in Commerce; various patronage and social assistance institutes (the patronage bodies of the Italian Confederation of Workers, the A.C.L.I., the O.N.A.R.M.O., the National Confederation Institute of Assistance promoted by the C.G.I.L., and the National Institute of Social Assistance have been approved).
A first limit, chronologically first and still of great importance, concerning the formation of the labour relationship, is that which pertains to minors and women, “half-ranks” pitilessly exploited under unchecked liberalism. Italian legislation in force (1934), which follows and reorganises earlier fragmented and later more organic provisions (from 1886), is inspired not only by considerations of protecting the weakest categories but also by social (ethical, health-related, etc.) order.
By general principle, the employment of children under the age of 14 is prohibited (coinciding with the end of compulsory schooling); exemptions may be granted for twelve-year-olds for certain types of work and under specific circumstances by the Minister of Labour. The age limit of 14 is instead raised to 18 for particular kinds of work, especially for women up to 21 years of age; for these workers, underground work in quarries, mines, and tunnels is also prohibited. For all minors, the requirements of fulfilling compulsory education and proven physical fitness are mandatory; the latter requirement is also demanded for adults engaged in certain industrial occupations. A general prescription is that the worker must possess a special work booklet, issued free of charge by the mayor and kept by the employer throughout the duration of the employment relationship, into which all relevant details of the employment must be entered, in addition to those inserted by the mayor and the physician as appropriate, so as to fully document the worker’s professional status.
Of great importance is the regulation of employment placement, recently revised in Italy (1949). The fundamental principles may be summarized as follows: 1) employment placement is a public and free service (in accordance with a long-standing and widely accepted orientation, including in international conventions); 2) the exercise of this function, with the aim of effectively safeguarding the freedom of work for all concerned, is the responsibility of the State, through its provincial labour offices (mentioned above), their branch offices, placement officers, and assistants (rather than through professional unions, though representatives of both workers and employers sit on the central advisory commission and local bodies, which also have decision-making functions within the framework of directives issued by the Minister of Labour, and decide on appeals against certain measures specified by law, with the possibility of further appeal to the aforementioned Minister, who decides after consulting the central commission); 3) as a rule (except in cases provided by law), employers are required to hire workers from the prescribed lists, specifying the number required by category and professional qualification; 4) preference must be given to workers residing in the locality where the work is to be performed (or nearby), unless nominative requests (i.e., for a specific individual) are permitted. In assigning work, consideration must be given to the worker’s family responsibilities, length of registration on the lists, economic and financial situation (as inferred from the employment status of household members), and other relevant factors indicating need, while also taking into account the health condition of the household. Preferential status is granted to those who have obtained a professional qualification through specialized courses (v. n. 8); 5) certain categories and types of work may be subject to appropriate adaptations; 6) the new system applies, within certain limits, to employees of State administrations and public bodies; 7) economic assistance for the unemployed is reorganized, extending insurance obligations to agricultural workers and salaried employees without income limits; 8) services for vocational training are also restructured (courses for the unemployed, in-house retraining programs, worksite training, schools, with facilitation for small businesses and artisan workshops).
Special provisions govern the employment of ex-combatants and categories of persons disabled directly or indirectly by war-related events (disabled veterans, former prisoners of war or deportees, orphans, relatives of the fallen, etc.), requiring employers to select their personnel from among these groups up to specified percentages, provided the necessary suitability is met. Similarly, employers must reserve positions for those discharged from tuberculosis sanatoriums, particularly for work within the sanatoriums themselves.
One of the essential and non-derogable obligations of the employer is the safeguarding of working conditions. The general norm is established by the Civil Code (which requires the employer, in conducting the enterprise, to adopt measures necessary—according to the nature of the work, experience, and technical standards—to protect the physical integrity and moral personality of workers: art. 2087); special legislation applies this principle to specific categories of enterprises and workers, with particular regard to hygiene and safety, aiming to prevent accidents and illnesses, and including provisions for medical consultation and assistance. Among the numerous legislative provisions on health, those contained in the General Regulation on Industrial Hygiene (1927) are noteworthy, covering both industrial and commercial enterprises as well as agricultural ones (with respect to the height, cubic capacity, and surface area of workshops, semi-basement rooms, lighting, temperature, air exchange, seating, bathrooms and lavatories, dormitories, nursing rooms, etc.).
Many other provisions, contained in various texts, regulate the duration of work. Principles already in force before the new Republican Constitution have been elevated to constitutional status under three aspects: the length of the working day (with the prohibition of waiver), weekly rest, and paid annual leave (art. 36), for reasons that include not only the protection of the most vulnerable categories (women and children, addressed in art. 37 of the same Constitution) but also social considerations (physical and ethical) that indirectly benefit the entire national community, ensuring, as far as possible, orderly development and the optimal enhancement of productive activity. The eight-hour workday, a long-standing demand of the labour movement, was adopted after the First World War both internationally (Washington Convention, 1919) and nationally (in Italy, see legislation of 1923 and subsequent measures). In cases of extension beyond normal hours, always within maximum limits, the worker must be compensated for overtime with increased pay, generally set by collective agreements at rates higher than the legal minimum, which also contains detailed provisions on the application of the eight-hour principle in relation to different types of activity and categories of personnel (excluding certain categories and making adaptations for others), as well as rules on breaks or pauses of varying lengths, their evaluation, and the recovery of any interruptions.
Night work, when not part of regular periodic shifts, must also be compensated with a premium over daytime rates due to its greater burden (cf. art. 2108 of the Civil Code). In this area, special provisions apply to women and children, as well as to bakery and pastry work and public transport services.
The overall working week must be contained within 48 hours (40 for industrial work under certain circumstances); the weekly rest day must normally coincide with Sunday (cf. art. 2109 of the Civil Code and a specific law of 1934). Possible causes for exemption, derogation, adaptation and their financial consequences are also specified in this regard. Other paid holidays are also envisaged, as are overtime hours (such as for weddings) under collective agreements.
Finally, after one year of uninterrupted service, the employee is entitled to an annual paid leave period; its duration and conditions are established by law (cf. the aforementioned art. 2109; for private employees, the relevant 1924 law), by collective agreements, by custom, and by judicial equity.
Further restrictions concern the power to terminate the employment relationship, which cannot legally occur in cases and to the extent of mere suspension of the relationship itself (pregnancy, accident, illness, military call-up). Special protection is provided in certain circumstances of time, place, and industry, prohibiting, limiting, and grading the dismissal of workers with specific provisions for those holding union or worker representative functions to prevent retaliation against them. The general principle of freedom of termination nevertheless remains, subject to due notice and severance pay (proportionate to years of service); stability is recognized only in certain business sectors; its generalization, always excepting dismissal for “just cause,” i.e., a disciplinary infraction so serious as not to permit even temporary continuation of the relationship, remains one of the workers’ greatest aspirations.
Violations of protective labor standards may be prosecuted before the competent jurisdictions in criminal proceedings (when crimes are involved, as frequently provided for in social legislation), in civil proceedings for patrimonial liability, and in administrative proceedings in many cases (such as for certain insurance schemes and family allowances).
PROTEZIONE DELLA GIOVANE, ASSOCIAZIONE CATTOLICA INTERNAZIONALE DELLE OPERE per la
The Association carries out work not of redemption but of preservation on behalf of young women facing dangers they may encounter in travel, at work, or in student life: it provides and arranges surveillance services at train stations, ports, airports (missions de gares), etc.; organizes and manages hostels, family-style homes, hotels, dining halls, clubs, employment and information offices, holiday and cultural centers, convalescent and vacation homes; it is linked to a vast network of “monitored” hotels in many countries; it collaborates with all Catholic youth associations and also with non-Catholic associations pursuing the same goal. With its “travel guides,” it establishes extensive itineraries enabling it to follow young women wherever they may go. The International Committee is based in Fribourg.
Founded in 1866 as the League Roynold, with the approval of Leo XIII, to defend young women from the “white slave trade,” the International Committee has a president appointed by the Holy See and an ecclesiastical advisor, the Bishop of Fribourg. Present on all five continents, it has very active national committees in Europe, especially in Austria, Belgium,