The summer season is behind us, most of the seaside resorts on the coast of Ravenna have already started operations despite the decidedly unfavorable climate of the last few weeks. What is the situation regarding the recurring problem of finding seasonal workers? Have the bathrooms and tourism related activities found the staff to face the season? Just recently, the positive opinion of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs at the request of the Emilia-Romagna region on the possibility of employing minors, and especially high school students, so that they can carry out apprenticeships in the summer. period in sectors other than the branch of the educational track attended.
Hoteliers and restaurateurs rejoiced, but is it enough to compensate for the lack of staff? Did the end of the citizen’s income have any consequences? We talked about it with three actors who, from different points of view, deal with this problem on a daily basis.
Maurizio Rustignolia prominent figure in the seaside panorama of Ravenna, plays a role President of Ravenna Beaches Cooperative, which brings together and coordinates all 210 beach facilities from the 9 beaches of Ravenna. Rustignoli, who we spoke to on the phone, confirms the trend of recent years: “Although there has been a slight improvement over previous years, probably due to the end of the citizen’s income, Access to labor remains a challenge for the beach sector. Currently, it is estimated that 15/20% of staff are still missing to fully meet the needs of our system. From lifeguards to waiters, from bartenders to chefs, the workforce is hard to fill. And the season has already started.”
“Despite this shortcoming – he added -, the services offered remain adequate because we are used to rolling up our sleeves”. The main problem lies in the difficulty of finding qualified workers, as the offer seems to focus mainly on people without experience “however – Rustignoli continues – they must be supported by experts to grow and learn. Of course times are tight, the season only lasts a few months.’
Elisa Spadoni is the contact person for Cescot, an education and employment agency affiliated with Confesercenti. Spadoni outlined the wide range of activities carried out by the organization and highlighted: “We connect the supply and demand of work and offer a free service offered to Confesercenti members. Furthermore, as a training body, we provide a service related to work orientation for the unemployed and those receiving benefits, such as naspa workers and former state income recipients, in close cooperation with the municipal employment offices.
Elisa Spadoni confirmed that the current situation shows no improvement compared to the previous year. “We are interviewing every day, but even so there are still many open positions.”, he declared. “Today we actually have about 180 job offers from Casalborsetti to Pinarella”specified and emphasized that the catering sector is particularly affected by the lack of personnel compared to trade and services. “At the moment it is still premature to formulate an assessment of how the suspension of income from citizenship has affected the profile of users who come to us, probably in a few months the picture will be clearer.”
Carmine Torino, representative of Filcams Cgil, expressed a different opinion on the situation on the labor market. According to Turin, it is not a lack of workers, but rather unsatisfactory contractual conditions. “It’s not like there aren’t workers available. – he underlined -, however, there is a lack of workers willing to accept current contractual conditions, such as 24-hour part-time contracts, which often involve hours in excess of 40 hours per week, or on-call contracts, where the call is not casual but becomes a daily commitment with no possibility of absence due to illness or injury .”
Turin explained that Filcams Cgil is actively involved in an information campaign to raise awareness, especially among young people, of their contractual rights. “For several years we have been driving along the coast of Cervia, Milano Marittima and the beaches of Ravenna with a caravan – he declared – to provide information and give young people the opportunity to contact the union. It is important that they know their rights and do not contact us until it is too late, i.e. at the end of the contract, to get what they are entitled to.”
Maurizio Rustignoli evaluates several alternative strategies to address problems in the sector. “I believe it is essential to improve communication between those looking for work and those offering it – he declared -. Despite our efforts to engage training providers, if we fail to attract a new workforce, I fear the situation could deteriorate further.”
Rustignoli emphasized the importance of research migration flows as a potential source of human resources eager for work and stability. “I believe that it is necessary to identify investment opportunities in human resources among migration flows – he underlined -. This is clearly a discussion that does not concern Ravenna, but transcends national borders and should really be addressed at European level. People must not only be accepted, but also trained, they must be guaranteed decent living conditions, including a roof over their heads and necessary services. It’s about being able to retain them, help them grow and build a workforce with experience that is proven year after year.”
Will this be a solution that guarantees the sustainability and competitiveness of a key sector for the local economy and maintains the high level of services offered to Ravenna residents and tourists? The picture painted by the testimonies of Maurizio Rustignoli, Elisa Spadoni and Carmine Torino again emphasizes the complexity and urgency of the problem. In trying to meet this challenge, there is a need for a long-term vision that invests in training and integration without forgetting contractual conditions.