Macron Law and Italian legislation compared: what changes for the sector?

Protectionist policies developing in Europe as laws that impinge on minimum wage of hauliers in transfer, let us to shed light on legislative changes in Italy and France. For this reason we have asked Studio legale Callipari, Golia di Infogestweb and Dr. Sergio Antonaccio of Transport European Studies Centre to help us understanding the Italian law.

Is Minimum Wage Italian Law as Macron Law?

Notwithstanding few don’t know it, we remember that Macron Law, in force since last July 1st, concerns all transport companies non-resident in France who move hauliers on French territory for international transport  with departure and arrival in France or with cabotage deals (excluding transport in transit).

Since its coming to effect, Macron Law has implied obligations and means for companies which carried out international transport in France, among them it is necessary to fill in the transfer certificate, beside to nominate a legal representative in the country.

In Italy , on December 26th the Legislative Decree 136/2016, which affects all sectors and entails to all foreign hauliers that make cabotage deals in Italy, the payment to all drivers in transfer of minimum Italian wage (even if in Italy there is not a minimum interprofessionl wage, there is a minimum agreed wage for transport and logistics of 11 euro per hour).

Just like the French rules, with this law the scope is to prevent the  dumping social, that it is to say that workers of other EU Countries work in Italy  with protection and wages of their countries of origin, creating in this way a predatory competition for Italian companies.

Who involves Decree 136/2016?

The decree is applied to companies established in other Member State of EU and that, as for the field of services rendering, send in transfer in Italy one or more workers in favour of another company. Surprisingly the Italian government has not still settled if the application of this new rule affects only cabotage deals or if, on the contrary, will take into account international transport with departure and arrival in Italy.

As for Macron Law, that regards also international transport, the company that will send in transfer workers in Italy, besides designate a legal representative in the country, will have the obligation to inform about transfers the Italian Ministry of Employment during prior 24 hours, as well as the subsequent changes during the following 5 days.

The notification will contain the following information:

• Company’s and workers in transfer’s data
• Date of transfer beginning and ending
• Place of service rendered
• Kind of service
• Data and address of the contracting company
• Authorization number of supply activity, in case of transnational supply where the authorization is required by the rule of the established state

Another similarity with French law  is that the non- compliance of obligations by the transport companies will imply administrative sanctions, which in the case of Italy will range 150 and 500 Euro for each affected worker.

Finally, while the French Ministry of Employment has announced some weeks ago that, starting form next January, companies must formalize via web transfer certificates, the Italian Ministry of Employment has not at disposal the telematic application. At the moment it is only possible to see the transfer communication form on their web (at the moment only in Italian, but it is expected the English translation).