Mattarella’s warning for May 1st: “Work is not a commodity”

ROME – “Tomorrow is May 1st. Labor day. Therefore Republic Day, which the constituents wanted to base precisely on work. As the first proponent of this formula, Fanfani, said to the Constituent Assembly, "founded not on privilege, not on the effort of others", but on everyone's work. The President of the Republic said it, […]

ROME – “Tomorrow is May 1st. Labor Day. Therefore Republic Day, which the constituents wanted to base precisely on work. As the first among the proponents of this formula, Fanfani, ‘founded not on privilege, not on the effort of others’, but on everyone’s workThis was said by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, during his visit to the Assolac -. Granarolo factory in Castrovillari, in the province of Cosenza, on the occasion of the visit to Calabria for the 2024 Labor and Workers’ Day. “It is a basic element of our democratic identity – added Mattarella -. It is not just a reference to the values of freedom and equality but the indication of a living social model, projected towards cohesion and solidarity. Capable, therefore, of continuously removing, over time, the obstacles that take away opportunities from people and prevent the full exercise of rights. Work is inextricably linked to the person, to their dignity, to their social dimension, to the contribution that everyone can and must make to participation in the life of society”.

“WORK IS NOT A COMMODITY”

For Mattarella “work is not a commodity. It has a value in the market of goods and exchanges. Indeed, it is an essential element, because without the contribution of human creativity it would be devoid of consistency and quality. But precisely the connection with the realization of the human personality gives work a much greater meaning than an economic good; “Work must be free from conditioning, imbalances, abuses that create marginalization and therefore represent the opposite of its role and its meaning – added Mattarella -. Factors that represent heavy impediments to the path of the whole society. The human and constitutional importance of work must push institutions at every level, and with them all economic and social actors, to never feel satisfied until full good employment is achieved”.