”BY NEXT YEAR, ‘GRAPE HARVEST VOUCHERS’ WILL BECOME A REALITY”: THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, PAOLO DE CASTRO SPEAKS TO WINENEWS ABOUT ONE OF THE NEW REGULATIONS OF THE WELFARE REFORM, CURRENTLY AWAITING DECREE FOR GO AHEAD

In an interview with WineNews, the Minister of Agriculture, Paolo De Castro spoke of the new regulation in regards to grape harvest workers: “Unfortunately, for this year, it’s late, because decrees to activate the law must be processed. But by 2008 ‘grape harvest vouchers’ will be a reality”. The regulation is part of the new Italian welfare reform.

The ‘vouchers’ (which are already used in other European countries like France, Spain and Germany) will be acquired by employers at INPS offices (with the hopes of also eventually making them available at much more accessible locations like tobacco shops), and then distributed to the company’s seasonal grape harvest workers. This ‘voucher’ will cover net retribution, as well as social costs, or rather, social security, health insurance and the actual costs of distributing the vouchers.