Opposition senses provocation: Meloni government cuts Italian “citizen's money”

Opposition senses provocation Meloni government cuts Italian “citizen money”

05/01/2023, 05:19 p.m

The basic income has protected many unemployed people in Italy from poverty for four years. Now the social policy measure is being canceled by the Italian government. Instead, there should be inclusion checks – but only if certain conditions are met.

According to media reports, the Italian government has decided to abolish the citizen income that was introduced four years ago. Instead of the regulation from which four million people benefited last year, there should be so-called integration checks. As a result, the government of the ultra-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wants to save almost three billion euros a year.

From January 1, 2024, the citizen income is to be replaced by a more restricted, so-called inclusion check. While the citizens’ income of an average of 550 euros per month introduced in 2019 benefited all people with low incomes, the inclusion check will only be reserved for households with people with disabilities, minors and over 60 years of age.

The Meloni government also wants to make it easier to hire workers on temporary contracts and is planning a one-year exemption from employer contributions for companies that hire “integration check” recipients. The opposition and the unions described the measure as a “provocation”.

The “integration check” will be capped at €500 per month (€630 for households with one member over the age of 67 or a severely disabled member), plus €280 for households that do not own a home. The benefit is limited to 18 months.