In a citizens’ initiative referendum Italians will have the opportunity on 8 and 9 June 2025 to vote on five important citizenship and workers’ rights questions.
Italian legislation allows referendum questions to be proposed and supported by citizens rather than coming from Parliament and requires a minimum of 500,000 petition signatures for an initiative to go to popular vote as a referendum.
The five referendum questions address the following –
- Stop unfair dismissals – under current laws an unfairly dismissed employee cannot return to their jobs even if a judge declares the termination unjust and unfounded – the proposal repeals this rule in an attempt to stop dismissals without just cause or reason.
- More protections for workers in small businesses – increase the protections of those who work for businesses with less than sixteen employees, cancelling the maximum limit of six months' compensation in the case of unjustified dismissal so that the judge can determine the fair compensation without any limit.
- Reduction of precarious work – approximately 2.3 million Italians are employed under fixed-term contracts – this proposal would restore the obligation to provide reasons for the use of fixed-term contracts.
- More safety at work – on average three Italian workers die at work each day, with current rules protecting contracting companies from liability. This referendum seeks to repeal provisions that currently limit the liability chain between main contractors and their subcontractors when workplace accidents occur. The referendum would restore broader liability protections for workers by making principal contractors more responsible for safety violations that occur within their subcontracted work arrangements. The broader goal is to improve workplace safety by proposing to expand the liability of principal contractors in case of worksite injuries which would create stronger incentives for main contractors to ensure their subcontractors maintain proper safety standards.
- More integration with Italian citizenship – current requirements, introduced in 1992, are for ten years legal residence in Italy in order to gain citizenship – the proposal is to return the requirement to the pre-1992 requirement of five years legal residence.
The four questions relating to the Jobs Act were initiated by the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour), with the support of the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement, and the Green & Left Alliance.
An online platform was launched on 18 July 2024 to gather petition signatures, with an astounding 4 million signatures collected.
Italian referendums require at least 50% + 1 of the eligible population to vote for each question individually. If the 50% + 1 quorum is not reached the referendum does not go to Parliament and does not pass. Italy's right-wing coalition government opposes these referendums and is actively encouraging voter abstention to prevent the required quorum from being met.
This is a crucial opportunity for democratic participation, allowing citizens to directly shape the future on issues related to fundamental rights and the direction of Italian society.
Read more: CGIL - Italian Referendum 2025 - CGIL - The VOTE Is Our Revolt