10 THE ITALIAN LAW JOURNAL NOS. 1-2 (2024)
The ‘Italian Way’ to the Minimum Wage. Time for a Change?
by Emanuele Menegatti The Italian legal system is characterized by a unique way of ensuring minimum wage to employees, referred to as the ‘Italian way’ to the minimum wage. In the absence of a statutory minimum wage and collective agreements with universal coverage, it has fallen to the judge, through an original interpretative operation, to guarantee employees the minimum wage, identified in the minimums set by the collective agreements for the sector in which the employer operates. However, this operation has begun to show significant signs of failure in achieving its goal. This contribution aims to highlight the usefulness of legislative intervention on minimums, in light of scientific and political debate. Finally, it considers the possible impact that the implementation of Directive (EU) 2022/2041 could have in terms of moving towards the introduction of a legally guaranteed minimum wage. DOI 10.23815/2421-2156.ITALJ ISSN 2421-2156
