"We celebrate the value of May 1st with necessary advance, in the heart of the Mechatronics district, in Reggio Emilia. After last year, in Udine, this time we anticipate the celebration of Labor Day in a workplace that looks to innovation, a reality that reaffirms the constitutional value of work and underlines, at the same time, how it is confirmed as the engine of growth and social cohesion of the Republic".
President Sergio Mattarella said this when speaking in Reggio Emilia on the occasion of Labor Day which the president will not celebrate at the Quirinale this year.
"The image of the construction site brings us back to Cantiere Italia, to the Pnrr construction site, with the unparalleled opportunity it offers to reduce and fill structural delays, support growth strategies and encourage more widespread opportunities with innovation. Opportunities that challenge the system of companies to ground the various initiatives", said President Mattarella.
"The unity of the country means substantial unity in terms of job opportunities. It means a commitment to remove territorial inequalities. Overseeing and promoting national unity also means this".
"Work is a sign of dignity because it is closely linked to each person's life project. And, then, while the temptation to surrender to the idea that poor work can exist, whose remuneration does not allow one to lead a decent life instead, it is necessary to forcefully affirm the character of work as the first, elementary, constructive way of redistributing the income produced".
"A recent report has highlighted how exploited child labor is still a present scourge. Exploitation of minors constitutes a serious theft of the future, taking away these children from school and pushing them towards marginality. It is a theme that also concerns the condition of many immigrant workers".
"Another aspect to highlight is that of accidents at work, which destroy lives, throw families into despair, cause irreversible damage, with unacceptable human costs. We are well aware that the battles of the workers' union movement have contributed significantly to achieving obvious goals of social progress and that Italy, in its transformation, has taken gigantic steps of growth and progress. But the contradictions often tend to reproduce themselves, as in every human event".
"Companies are looking for qualified and trained personnel. Precariousness as a system clashes with the goals of growth and development. If the figures are worrying and known, and denounce a high rate of inactivity in Italy compared to European parameters, an adequate response can come only by a concrete commitment to collective mobilization that knows how to exploit the great heritage of skills present in our country".
"Expanding the work base, and its quality, must be a constant worry at every level, starting with the institutions", Mattarella finally said speaking in Reggio Emilia.
