The package approved by the cabinet contains over 100 articles ranging from tax payments staggered over two years to guidelines on lay-offs.
“We are protecting jobs, we are supporting workers, we are reducing the tax burden, we are helping the regions,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told a press conference after a three-hour cabinet meeting.
Conte added that €12 billion of the package would be spent on supporting employment.
Companies based in the poorest regions in the south will benefit from a 30 per cent cut in pension contributions for all workers, not just new hires.
“We are aware of the lack of infrastructure in the south, which is less competitive, and we want this gap to be breached,” Conte said.
There is a provision for emergency monthly payments to vulnerable families ranging from €400 to €800 to be extended, and a sum of €500 million allotted for overtime payments to stretched health workers.
Conte also said social distancing and face masks would be mandatory until September 7, adding: “These are the minimum rules.”
The plan, which also calls for cruise ships to resume operating from August 15 and for trade fairs to take place from September, must now be approved by parliament, where the government enjoys a majority.
Italy hopes to front-load this year part of €209 billion euros in grants and cheap loans it should receive from the European Union’s Recovery Fund starting in 2021.
The Italian economy has been among the worst hit by the crisis, facing an 11.2 per cent contraction this year, according to EU estimates, the sharpest fall in the 27-nation bloc.
