Health passport will be mandatory in Italy to work from Friday

The health passport will be mandatory in Italy since Friday for all public and private sector workers, a measure that wants to stimulate the vaccination campaign against the COVID-19 and that collides with criticism from millions of employees. Italy, the first European country affected by the coronavirus epidemic in February 2020, paid a heavy price with more than 130,000 deaths.

After the black year, the vaccination campaign began in December and now more than 80% of people over 12 years of age are fully vaccinated (85% if those with the first dose are added).

The vaccine is mandatory for health personnel and the so-called “covid passport” is required of teachers.

But for the government led by Mario Draghi, these measures are not enough to guarantee a high level of immunity and prevent new outbreaks that could affect economic activity, as happened in 2020 and early 2021.

To encourage vaccination, the government announced a month ago, with the support of the coalition parties, the obligation to present the covid passport as of October 15 to access workplaces.

Employees who refuse to comply risk having their wages suspended and fined if they enter the workplace without the valuable document.

They also cannot choose to work from home. For their part, employers who avoid control also face fines.

Introduced in August to access trains, museums and restaurants, among others, the health passport includes a vaccination certificate or proof of recovery after having contracted the COVID-19 or a negative test performed in the last 48 hours.

Between the strike and the test

The move sparked violent protests in Rome on Saturday, where thousands of people, including far-right activists, devastated the headquarters of the country’s largest union, the CGIL and stormed the emergency room of a hospital in the capital.

Some workers have threatened strikes and even the blockade of ports if the measure is not lifted.

“We have no other alternatives, the strike or the test, otherwise they suspend us”Davide, a technician from Verona (north), of the anti-vaccine movement, lamented on Saturday to AFP.

Also in the group was Stefano, an employee from Como (north), who confessed that he is willing to pay 15 euros for the test that he will have to take three times a week.

“I personally am going to take the test. I have to pay to work, it’s absurd! “he cried.

According to an estimate by the Ministry of Public Function, some 250,000 people of the nearly 3.2 million state employees are not vaccinated, which is equivalent to 7.8%.

In the private sector, the figure reaches 2.2 million people out of 14.6 million, 15%, which represents a challenge as of October 15 for the economic recovery of the country after 2020, when the GDP of the peninsula collapsed 8.9%.

Luca Zaia, president of the wealthy northern Veneto region, warned of the “chaos” that the implementation of the measure can cause to Italian companies as of October 15.

“We cannot guarantee to all those who have not been vaccinated to carry out a test every 48 hours. The contractors I speak to are very concerned ”, warned.

Mandatory vaccination?

The largest organization of industrialists, Confindustria, firmly supports the government’s decision and rejects the “blackmail” of some sectors of workers.

Para Maurizio Stirpe, vice president of Confindustria, “There is no reason to pay the test to those who do not want to be vaccinated, people must make their decisions”, said.

Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right party, and the center-left Democratic Party are instead in favor of making the vaccine mandatory, a measure that the government has rejected for the time being, especially because of the opposition from the far-right League of Matteo Salvini, a member of the national coalition, who threatens a break with his allies.

The measure for now will be in effect until the end of the year.