Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002505/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Giuseppe Antoci (The Left)
In Italy, thousands of workers known as ‘part-time volunteer firefighters’ have worked for years in precarious conditions, on repeated temporary contracts and with no structural protection.
The Commission opened an infringement procedure in that regard against Italy[1] for breach of Directive 1999/70/EC, which is still open[2]. Although the Italian authorities said that from 1 January 2025 those precarious posts would no longer be allowed, as they were being replaced by permanent staff, it does not appear thus far that this plan has been fully implemented.
What is more, Decree-Law No 131 of 2024 provided only for partial compensation for precarious workers in the public administration, but did not include a clear stabilisation path for part-time firefighters.
At the same time, Italy faces a serious shortage of permanent firefighters[3]. The high average age[4], the absence of regular competitions and the reduction of training activities compound this state of affairs.
In the light of the above:
- 1.Can the Commission provide an update on the current state of play of the infringement procedure?
- 2.Does it think that the measures Italy has announced are sufficient to put an end to the abuse of fixed-term contracts in practice and comply with Directive 1999/70/EC?
Submitted: 23.6.2025
- [1] INFR(2014)4231.
- [2] In March 2025, it confirmed that the situation was still being assessed and monitored.
- [3] In regions such as Emilia-Romagna and Sicily, shortages are as high as 40 %. Nationally, shortages are estimated at 4 000 operational units and 2 500 administrative units.
- [4] Their average age is 47.