Discuss with unions and Regions the higher cost of living in the North and find solutions together to promote, in terms of better earnings, the school staff, which is in short supply in those very territories.
This is the intention of the Minister of Education, Giuseppe Valditara, as he himself has clarified, but the representatives of the local authorities with whom he should dialogue – especially in the South but not only – and practically all the unions – except Anp – are strongly opposed to his proposal. Part of the Catholic world also sides with them.
For the governor of Campania, Vicenzo De Luca, the proposed differentiation of salaries "means accentuating elements of separation in the country, the gap between North and South and abandoning any southern policy. We know that in Milan - De Luca underlines - the cost of living is higher than in Naples, but we also know that in Milan everyone in the family works while in the South if one member of the family works it is already a miracle.
The country's employment rate in the North is close to 70% and in the South it is at 40% and that youth unemployment is double that of the North. So it is misleading to think about the cost of living". The mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, is also on the same line.
“If it is established that those who work in the north, whether they are teachers or doctors, earn more, an incentive to migrate is created and that is what Italy does not need, whose problem is instead to reduce the gaps”, observes the mayor. But also for the governor of Emilia Romagna, Stefano Bonaccini, candidate for the secretariat of the Democratic Party, “teachers and school workers should all be paid more, as happens in other European countries, rather than differentiated salaries for teachers”.
The regional candidate for the center-left in Lazio, Alessio D'Amato, says he is "totally against the reinstatement of wage cages; if anything, the issue is overall growth of the system and not creating series A and B schools". "The idea of returning to salary differentiations between workers in the north and south is old and outdated: instead of thinking about differentiating salaries, the government should focus on bridging the gaps in terms of services, connections and opportunities between the regions", is also the opinion of the councilor for Schools of Rome Capital, Claudia Pratelli. Broadsides are coming from part of the Catholic world.
"Public schools - attack the Acli, the Christian Workers' Associations - must be reorganized and relaunched, not cut. These statements seem more like the children of an electoral campaign that it would be time to put behind us and of a culture that does not realize that territorial differences, including economic ones, are increasingly distances that are swelling a silent succession, that fragment national unity".
The daily newspaper Avvenire, on the other hand, defends the minister. The entire world of trade unions, except for the principals, but only those of Anp, is strongly opposed to proposals for union differentiation. The national unity of the education and research system – they say in chorus – must not be called into question and, consequently, the collective agreement is and must remain national.
Meanwhile, the minister is also thinking about the problem of school dropout, of which Italy unfortunately has the highest rate in the EU: the intention is to start an experiment with 150 of the most 'critical' schools, forming classes of 10 students and specially trained and better paid teachers. 150 million have been included in the budget law, which will be used to valorize teachers employed in orientation and dropout-fighting activities.
Article published on 27 January 2023 - 20:35
