1. Bruxelles, ott 2008 ACTIVE AGEING THE SITUATION OVER 45 WORKERS IN ITALY Centro Ricerche Documentazione Studi- CDS

2. EMPLOYMENT IN ITALY, DATA AND TRENDS Even after a quite long time of significant employment growth, the Italian economic system still experiences low rates of participation in the labour market for the active population. The rate of population actually participating to the income production (or those pursuing this aim) is still far from the ones of other EU Countries comparable in terms of economic development. This situation limits the economic development and it is a relevant obstacle to social realization possibilities and to personal choices of a large part of the population.

3. EMPLOYMENT IN ITALY, DATA AND TRENDS In 2007, the 58,7% of the population aged 15-64 is employed in Italy. The gender differences is noteworthy: the female employment rate is 46,6% and the male employment rate is 70,7%. The employment rate is increased of the 0,3% in 2007. The Italian employment rates are still far from the Lisbon goals and the European average rates, especially considering the female rate.

4. EMPLOYMENT IN ITALY, DATA AND TRENDS In 2007, the employment rate of those aged 55-64 is 33,8%. It reached one of the last positions in the European classification since 2006. The unemployment rate decreases during last decade (1998-2007) of 5,8%, thus reaching in the last period the 6,1%. Gender differences are still relevant. The long term unemployment rate (more than 12 months) reaches the 47,4% of the national unemployment in 2007 and it experiences a noteworthy improvement since 2006.

5. Non forze di lavoro per classe di età (migliaia di unità)

6. Employment rates by sex, age group (percentage)

7. Employment rate, age classes

8. Participation rate for age and sex- Italy 2006 The participation rate increses until the age groups 35-44, reaching the highest value, then it decreases for the following age classes. The age class 55-64 has the highest values in terms of both absolute and relative difference

9. Long term unemployment rates by sex and age groups (percentage)

10. OLDER WORKERS IN ITALY Within the European framework, the Italian employment rates are too low especially considering the employment and participation rates of over 45 workers. This situation is linked to the Italian demographic and social conditions: progressive aging of the population and early retirement (59,9 years). Nevertheless, the issue has been neglected for a long time at political level. During the 70s and 80s, the main care was directed to drive out of the labour market the older workers in order to favour companies' restructuring and allow companies to practice turn over among younger and older workers, thus reducing labour costs.

11. OLDER WORKERS IN ITALY During the 90s, the early retirement strategies left place to national policies contrasting the expulsion processes, nearly appealing to the only welfare system. Since the beginning of the 2000, a new experimental phase begins, clearly addressed to support older workers employment. The Italian older workers are trapped between two conflicting injunctions: on one side, they are pushed to early retirement in order to create employment for young people, but, on the other side, they are pushed to remain in the labour market in order to guarantee the financial balance.

12. SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYMENT OF OLDER WORKERS: some guidelines Retirement before 65 years old is often due to a wrong staff management of the older people. For example, the training investment decreases as age increases, thus confirming the deep-routed idea that training is necessary only for those accessing the labour market and training activities are only an integration of the educational or University knowledge. As the technological and operating development is faster and faster, the lack of training and up-dating activities of the already skilled older workers, favours advance obsolescence phenomenon.

13. SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYMENT OF OLDER WORKERS: some guidelines The productivity of older workers is not only connected to age but aso to skills obsolescence. As to say, the possibilities of older workers to remain in the labour market are strongly connected to training, up-dating and skills renewing opportunities, according to the ongoing changes. Moreover, the self-consciousness and the vocational potentialities comprehension of the older workers have to be developed.

14. INTEGRATION-REINTEGRATION AND QUALITY OF WORK The employment rate of older workers is determined not only by the personal preferences and invalidating situations but also by the characteristic of the production system, the normative and productive background, the social dialogue, all factors producing significative differences in terms of skills maintenance. The most common obstacles for older workers are: ● Recruitment (especially for unemployed people) ● Training ● Restructuring and reorganisation processes ● Wage performance ● Fiscal laws and normative ● ICT access ● Skill improvement ● Turn over and general work organisation

15. (RE) INTEGRATION AND QUALITY OF WORK FOR OLDER WORKERS: tools and guidelines Active management of surplus over 45 workforce Systematic integration of different interventions activated by employment services. Thus, in Italy, the categorical logic that divides between welfare interventions and labour market interventions should be overcome and replaced by an integrative logic of interventions able to guarantee mutual efficiency to all kind of users and needs.

16. (RE) INTEGRATION AND QUALITY OF WORK FOR OLDER WORKERS: tools and guidelines Following the European guidelines, Italy starts developing politics addressed to over 45 especially focused on welfare and oriented to active aging. According these purposes, within the NAP and the European support Framework, a policy mix has been created and preventive and active measures have also been considered (e.g. Training, up- dating, vocational reintegration tools...)

17. (RE) INTEGRATION AND QUALITY OF WORK FOR OLDER WORKERS: tools and guidelines Interventions at national and local level: Examples ● Assuring some tax reliefs to enterprises employing inactive or unemployed older workers (through part-time work contracts and other flexible patterns) ● Supporting or tutoring pathways for the promotion of self- employment, micro-enterprises ● Unemployed benefit - shock absorbers- welfare support provisions ● Personalized pathways for reintegration integrated by economic supports e.g. Entrance minimum wage, work money purse, house or service token)

18. (RE) INTEGRATION AND QUALITY OF WORK FOR OLDER WORKERS: tools and guidelines OTHER ACTIVE POLICIES (d.lgs 276/2003- labour market reform) Disadvantaged workers (over 50) may benefit from differentiated treatment for accessing to labout market ● Re- integration contracts: unemployed over 50 workers (or those inactive since 2 years that wish to be employed) may benefit from this kind of contract ● “Intermittent” work: this kind of contract can be used even for over 45 workers expelled from the productive cicle, those registered in employment and mobility lists

19. (RE) INTEGRATION AND QUALITY OF WORK FOR OLDER WORKERS: Italian main problems ● The recent restructuring processes and their outcomes do not support the normative choices that, on the contrary, produce further weakness for over 45 workers through premature expulsions from the productive sector ● Discordance between public strategies and enterprises' practices also faces an old social protection framework (e.g. Unemployed benefits etc) ● Notwithstanding the critical state, the situation of the over45 workers out of the labour market is not considered as a political or strategic priority ● The innovative solutions are fragmented or furnished only in case of emergency. ● The welfare and social sphere is strongly cut off from the work sphere ● The target is differently interpreted (“people in difficulty”, unemployed adults”), thus developing different kind of interventions.