Vaccinated, tested or taken back: Italy debates rules for third-generation workers

The unprecedented decision is causing heated debate around the world, among other things, due to the exclusion of parliamentarians from the third generation base. It is less stringent for judges than for other civil servants. However, Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government is demanding that the green passport obligation also apply to parliamentarians, the Quirinal staff, the residence of the head of state and the Constitutional Court. However, due to the principle of self-determination, the law that extends the third generation rule cannot be applied to constitutional organs automatically. Parliament has to decide for itself whether it requires delegates and employees to have a green passport. An interrogation of a television team among the parliamentarians recently revealed that many of them have not been vaccinated, sparking a heated debate.

If a judge stays away from work without excuse for longer than 15 days because he does not have a green ID, he will be suspended from work. This comes from the specific legislation governing judges and prosecutors, in particular Section 107 of the Constitution, which only authorizes the Board of Governors to suspend their work. For this category, as with other officials, the suspension does not take effect after only five days without a green passport.

The privileges of parliamentarians and judges cause heated debate. said the head of the right-wing Lega party, which co-governs Rome, Matteo Salvini.

“We are extending the Green Passport commitment to the entire world of work, in both the public and private sectors,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza said at a Thursday evening news conference. “We do this for two main reasons: to make these places safer and to strengthen our vaccination campaign,” Esperanza said. According to media reports, workers who do not present their passports face fines of up to 1,000 euros.

In Italy, the Green Passport shows whether a carrier has been vaccinated against Covid-19, whether they have tested negative in the past 48 hours or whether they have recently recovered from the disease. Currently, the card must already be presented in the interior of restaurants, cinemas or sports stadiums, on intercity trains and buses, and on domestic flights.

There have been protests in many places in Italy against the mandatory introduction of the green corridor. A large demonstration against the new rules in the professional world is scheduled for September 25 in Rome.