Rome, Dec. 22 (LaPresse) – An employer who, based on a judge’s ruling, does not adequately pay workers cannot be ordered to pay wage or contribution differences if they applied the pay standard established by a collective agreement. A shield for companies that apply a collective agreement but have not paid workers in accordance with Article 36 of the Constitution has been introduced via an amendment in the Budget Committee. Only cases where a so-called “pirate contract” is applied are excluded. According to the text of the Budget Law under examination in the Chamber, "with the provision by which the judge determines, at any stage and level of the proceedings, the non-compliance with Article 36 of the Constitution of the pay standard established by the sectoral and regional collective labor contract, taking into account labor productivity levels and cost-of-living indices as determined by Istat, the employer cannot be ordered to pay wage or contribution differences for the period prior to the filing date of the initial lawsuit if they applied the pay standard provided by the collective agreement signed pursuant to Article 51 of Legislative Decree 15 June 2015, No. 81, or by agreements in the same economic sector that guarantee equivalent protections pursuant to Article 11 of Legislative Decree 31 March 2023, No. 36, for the sector and region where the work was performed." The measure mirrors a proposal by FdI, first signed by Pogliese last summer, which ultimately was not included in the Ilva decree. The M5S presented a repeal amendment in the Senate, considering the measure “clearly regulatory in nature” and “another severe blow to workers’ rights.”