Starting next January, families could pay more than 9% more for domestic help due to the automatic adjustment of wages to inflation which could be triggered in the absence of an agreement between employers' associations and trade unions, an increase that could push many people to reduce the hours or take refuge in the submerged.
The alarm on the increase in costs was raised by Fidaldo, the Italian federation of domestic work, while the president of Assindatcolf, Andrea Zini, underlined the risks of an increase in undeclared work.
According to Fidaldo's calculations, for a full-time carer the increase would be around 125 euros per month which, also considering thirteenth month, holidays and severance pay, would lead to an annual increase of almost 2 thousand euros.
The contract provides that in the absence of an agreement with the trade unions, an inflation adjustment of 80% of the November price index will take place, which is currently at 11.8% on a provisional basis.
In practice, the increase could reach 9.44%.
If the family then has to take care of a non self-sufficient person, the expense can reach up to 30,000 euros per year (including replacements for holidays and rest periods of the main carer) and the burden is close to 3,000.
"The hope - underlined Fidaldo - is that through a discussion with the social partners we can arrive at a staggering of these increases over time which will weigh on family budgets already burdened by increases in the price of gas and bills".
These increases will only be partially offset by pension adjustments which will recover 7.3% only in the case of checks up to four times the minimum (the others have lower increments down to just 2.55% for those over ten times). and from the renewal of the expired collective agreements of other sectors, should they be renewed during 2023.
"Families - explains Zini - could decide in the face of this increase in costs to reduce the hours of their family assistant or to declare less but there is also the risk for many women of giving up work and returning home because it becomes convenient , in the face of low-wage work and the possibility of having Naspi or more substantial single checks, do not face the expense of domestic work".
Assindatcolf hopes that an agreement will be reached with the union that does not trigger the automatic increase and that "spreads" the inflation adjustment, even up to 100%, but over the whole year (for example 25% in January , 50% in April, 75% in October and 100% in January 2023).
Zini then reiterated his request to the Government to provide for a deduction for expenses for domestic workers and carers because it would push the emergence of a large part of this work.
And he says he is against raising the ceiling for vouchers up to 10,000 euros.
"Almost 75% of the 961,000 domestic workers surveyed by INPS have wages below this threshold, there is a risk of greater use of this tool with an increase in precariousness and undeclared work".
