The General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation Luca Visentini, the General Secretaries of the Italian trade unions CGIL, CISL and UIL – Susanna Camusso, Annamaria Furlan and Carmelo Barbagallo – met with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio in Rome today.

During a fruitful meeting, which took place in a friendly atmosphere, they discussed a number of European legislative initiatives concerning work and social protection, corporate restructuring and delocalisation, the revision of the trade and sustainable development chapters in trade agreements, and the need to launch a process of upward wage convergence in the European Union.

After the meeting, Luca Visentini said: "We spoke to the Deputy Prime Minister about the need for a profound realignment of the European agenda, which up to now has prioritised economic interests, in favour of human and social rights and the rights of workers, pensioners and young people. Against this background, the legislative framework and the initiatives under discussion at EU level must help to improve rights, wages and social protection for all categories of workers, and in particular young people who are entering the jobs market and are employed in the new sectors of the digital economy.

"Equal treatment and fair competition should be the principles on which necessary economic, social and fiscal reforms at European level are based," he added. "We agreed to keep in regular contact with Mr Di Maio on the most important issues under discussion in the EU, starting at the informal meeting of EU employment and social policy ministers in Vienna on 19-20 July."