Italy

By Daniel Morris | 27. November 2017

IV. Government responses

Current Activities and Future Commitments [page 13]

A. Foundational Principles

Guiding Principle 3:

The Italian Government is strongly committed to the protection of human rights and to prevent and redress abuses committed by companies and therefore: i) takes appropriate steps to boost and facilitate the enforcement of laws aimed at requiring the respect of human rights by business; ii) provides effective guidance to business through policy measures and promotion and participation to multi-stakeholder initiatives; iii) encourages enterprises to communicate how they address their human rights impacts and stimulate and disseminate best practices at national and international level.

GP.3(a):

Recent policies, legislative initiatives and implementation measures adopted by the Government include:

– Legality Rating

The ‘legality rating’ was introduced in 2012 for the promotion of principles of ethical behaviour in business. The Italian Competition Authority (ICA) can issue, on request, a certification of compliance with relevant domestic legislation and of the adoption of good governance initiatives voluntarily adopted by enterprises, which entitles firms to access public funding and easier access to bank credit. One of the main aims of the ‘legality rating’ is to certify the companies’ active compliance with human rights, in particular the adherence to the guidelines provided by the Legislative Decree No. 231 of June 8th 2001 on the administrative liabilities of companies and the adoption of corporate social responsibility within their own modus operandi. The Decree No. 231 introduces essential provisions regulating the relationship between companies and the stakeholders, sanctioning enterprises that through their managers, company’s officers, subordinates (or third parties acting on behalf of the company), commit specific offences, including environmental crimes, unauthorized handling of information and crimes against the person (as listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), and violate the safety rules in the workplace. The complete list of the companies that have obtained a rating, with their score, is published on the ICA website (www.agcm.it/rating-di-legalita/elenco.html);

– The Administrative Liability of Entities

Decree 231 of 2001 has introduced the direct liability of legal entities for specific offences (corruption, money laundering, bribery, fraud, etc.) providing for a special form of liability, which is administrative in nature but to be ascertained by a penal judge and according to criminal law procedures. In order to avoid incurring in liability, the entity shall first demonstrate that it has adopted a sound model of organization, management and control; and secondly, that it has established a mechanism/body entrusted with monitoring and supervising the compliance to the model. Law 231 is both preventive and punitive: the list of crimes falling under the application of the law has been extended over the time and it presently includes specific human rights abuses, among others, the practice of mutilation of female genitalia; child prostitution and pornography; trafficking in human beings and slavery. In 2015, new environmental crimes have been included (environmental disaster, environmental pollution, failure to decontaminate, etc.).

– Irregular work and Agricultural sector

The ‘National Action Plan Against Trafficking in and Serious Exploitation of Human Beings’ provides for preventive measures in countries of origin where exploitation and trafficking of migrants in irregular work mostly occurred. Within this framework, a 2014 Decree has established the “Rete del Lavoro Agricolo di Qualità”: a network aimed at countering irregular work in agriculture by connecting companies compliant with specific requirements under labour, social security and fiscal law (such as the application of local and national agricultural sector work agreements). Companies compliant with the requirements under labour, social security and fiscal law may apply for joining the network, and this is rewarded with special incentives. Companies listed in the network receive special benefits, such as being included in a “white list”. This list is taken in consideration by the government enforcement agencies, which prioritize their controls over companies not belonging to the network (the rule does not apply if workers or trade unions representatives ask for intervention or in case of complaints to judicial authority or other administrative authorities). Such reward mechanisms from Public Administration incentivize promising and best practices in the field of countering irregular work in the agricultural sector.

In line with this approach, the Law n. 199 of 29.10.2016 “Disposizioni in materia di contrasto ai fenomeni del lavoro nero, dello sfruttamento del lavoro in agricoltura e di riallineamento retributivo nel settore agricolo” (provisions on countering undeclared labour, labour exploitation in agriculture and wages rebalance in agricultural sector), provides for measures aimed at improving the criminal prosecution of the phenomenon (through the crimes of illicit intermediation and work exploitation) with particular regard to illicit capital accumulation by exploiters and the provision of confiscation of the goods and properties acquired through the exploitation activity. The Law provides for victims’ compensation and the activation of a plan for the treatment of seasonal workers (in particular foreign ones) with the direct involvement and control of Regions on their conditions. The Law is also aimed at controlling the illicit intermediation by favouring the meeting supply and demand of jobs. On this issue a working group (composed of Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies; the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies; the Ministry of Justice; Regions; Industry Associations; Trade Unions and Civil Society Organizations) signed the experimental Protocol “Contro il caporalato e lo sfruttamento lavorativo in agricoltura. Cura-Legalità-Uscita dal ghetto”

In line with the goal of countering exploitation in the agricultural sector, the Centre of Politics and Bio economy of CREA (former INEA) within the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, and within the National Operational Project “Sicurezza per lo Sviluppo” (Safety for Development), has set up an Immigrants database with the aim of improving monitoring and control activities especially with regard to immigrants and workers recruited through racket and criminality. The tool collects data geographically (33 specific agricultural areas in about 270 municipalities for a total number of 26 productive divisions employing immigrant workers) and by monitoring seasonal work demands, and consequently identifies the manpower needed over the year.

– Migrants Smuggling and Human Trafficking

To increase cooperation activities of investigation, intensify financial controls on criminal groups’ profits and ensure punishment for transnational organizations profiting on migrants smuggling and human trafficking, in line with the Legislative Decree 24 of 2014 (transposing the EU Directive 2011/36) on February 2016, the Italian Government has adopted the National Action Plan Against Trafficking in and Serious Exploitation of Human Beings. The Plan is aimed at defining measures and strategies of intervention for the countering and prevention of trafficking, as well as at providing for actions of awareness-raising, social prevention, and social integration of victims.

– Development Cooperation

International Development Cooperation represents for Italy an instrument for creating stable relationships between countries and also a means of human rights and solidarity promotion; in this respect, the “General Rules Governing International Development Cooperation” define a ‘governance architecture’ for the development cooperation system, whose coherence and policy coordination will be ensured by the Inter-ministerial Committee on Development Cooperation (CICS), a task force made up of relevant ministries. The National Council for Development Cooperation has also been established, including the main public and private, profit and non-profit actors in the field of international development cooperation.

Planned Measures

Conduct a comprehensive study of the Law 231/2001 in order to evaluate potential extension of the scope and application of the administrative liability of legal entities;
Strengthen the role of the legality rating – primary competence of the Italian Competition Authority – with the aim of taking it into consideration in the elaboration of the ‘rating d’impresa’- primary competence of the National Anticorruption Authority – with the aim of promoting the respect for human rights in all economic activities;
Extend the scope and mandate of the “Rete Lavoro Agricolo di Qualità” to the food mass distribution companies and intermediaries with the aim of promoting the social responsibility of agro-food industry for workers’ exploitation;
Strengthen the role of labour inspections for tackling and controlling the emersion of irregular work and caporalato;
Promote the realization of interventions on immigrants’ rights protection in line with the project “villaggio solidale” (as developed in Puglia Region and coordinated by Coldiretti and Focsiv) that has led to the conclusion of regular employment contracts between agriculture industries and immigrants workers in the harvest seasons;
Further develop coordinating measures in the activities of prevention and control of irregular work and extend the scope and potential of the network of the “Rete Agricola di Qualità” in line with legislation that introduces the administrative liability for work exploitation and illegal intermediation and extends the availability of the compensation fund for victims of trafficking also to victims of caporalato;
Implement the provisions included in the draft of the II Program of Action on Disability – currently under approval – with particular focus to line of intervention n. 5 “Labour and occupation” and to the dispositions concerning the definition of supporting measures and of a system of incentives for the I and II level collective negotiations on matters of flexibility, part-time and treatment-work-life balance for persons with disabilities or affected by chronic disease or for caregiver workers for persons with serious disabilities;
Strengthen – also in line with the implementation of art. 25 of the UN Convention of Rights of people with disabilities – respect of fundamental rights of people with disabilities with regard access to medical treatment in hospitals and their quality, through the promotion and dissemination of the “Carta dei diritti delle persone con disabilità in ospedale” realized by the Coop. Sociale Onlus Spes contra Spem in 2010;
Promote effective implementation of EU Directive 2014/95 on disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by large enterprises and groups;
Fully implement the provisions of the new Law on Italian Development Cooperation with particular focus on the relationship between the profit and no profit actors and the definition of specific binding guidelines clarifying the role of business and private sector within development cooperation activities and their compliance with human rights;
Ensuring the full implementation of Law 221/2015 on green economy, including in particular the elaboration of a ‘Green Act’, a reviewed ‘National Sustainable Development Strategy’, a ‘National Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production’ and the establishment of a ‘Committee on Natural Capital’ to promote environmental sustainability and foster investments in the green economy; these measures will be developed taking into due consideration the development of the relevant European Union frameworks such as the Climate-energy Package 2030 and the Circular Economy Package as well as according to Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement;
Proceed to ratification of the 2014 Protocol to the ILO Forced Labour Convention and its implementation to counter activities of work exploitation and slavery;
Promote an effective implementation of the Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)3 adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to Member States on business and human rights.

GP 3(b)

Planned Measures [pages 17-20]

Conduct a systematic review of the existing legal framework for contrasting all illegal forms of labour and labour exploitation in the agriculture, construction, manufacturing and services sectors;
Conduct a comprehensive review of the existing commercial and civil law to assess and evaluate legislative reform introducing provisions such as the ‘duty of care’ or due diligence for companies;
Strengthen a comprehensive approach with the participation of all the law enforcement agencies concerned with the aim of better develop a strategy that – by using the operative instruments available – could effectively counter economic and productive activities abusive of human rights;

GP 3 (c,d)

The Italian Government has reaffirmed its on-going commitment to foster business respect for human rights through activities of promotion and improvement of responsible business conduct in the following fields:

– Environment

In the field of environment protection, the promotion of high environmental standards by enterprises beyond National and EU legislation is an essential contribution to the respect, promotion and fulfilment of human rights. Particularly relevant in this context are initiatives relating to green economy taken by the Government (Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Economic Development) in partnership with relevant stakeholders (such as national research centres, universities, business enterprises and environmental associations at national and international level) and other international actions undertaken in the field of countering climate change.

– Children Right

With regard to children, the Ministries for Economic Development and Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation supported the launch in June 2015 of the UNICEF Business Lab Project. The project is aimed at helping companies identify risks and integrate children rights in their own due diligence and management practices. In line with this approach several actions have been foreseen such as the dissemination of the UNICEF workbook on direct and indirect impact of business activities on children under 18 (Children are everyone’s business) as well as other relevant publications (Children’s Rights in National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights, 2015; Children’s Rights in Sustainability Reporting, 2013; Children’s Rights in Impact Assessment, 2013).

– Responsible Business Conduct and OECD Due Diligence Practices

With reference to the promotion of responsible business conduct, the Italian OECD NCP4 is committed to implement the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by promoting them through an in-depth dialogue with businesses, trade unions, non-governmental organizations, representatives of civil society.

Since the 2011 review of the OECD Guidelines, the NCP developed tools to make international standards operational especially for SMEs such as the “Due Diligence Guidance for SMEs”5 and activities for awareness raising and pilot projects involving large companies and SMEs with the aim of spurring a proactive responsible supply chain management through training, information and assistance.

Sustainable supply chain is indeed one of the main focus of the NCP action. In 2013, following the Rana Plaza collapse, the “Action Plan for Bangladesh” was launched with the involvement of Italian enterprises in the sector operating in Bangladesh. In this process, the NCP issued the “Report on responsible business conduct in the textile and garment supply chain. Recommendations of the Italian NCP on implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises”. Specific recommendations were given with regards to the adherence to the “Accord on Fire and Building Safety” and the participation to the “Rana Plaza Trust Fund” and for future action.

In this respect, the Italian Ministry for Economic Development, together with other six Ministers of EU Countries, signed the “Statement” recommending global companies to contribute generously to the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, set up to compensate victims of the accident in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh case showed the need to switch from a reactive approach to a preventive approach and in this view multi-stakeholders and collective actions are favoured and supported as they are seen more effective to tackle system issues.

Such activities at national level are accompanied by active participation to the OECD proactive Agenda projects, such as the “OECD Sector Project on Responsible Supply Chains in the Textile and Garment Sector” and other EU and international initiatives. Other OECD guidance for due diligence are promoted among companies such as the “OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chain” and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-affected and High-Risk Areas. The NCP also takes direct action, cooperating with national and international organisations such as ILO and UNICEF.

– Training on Human Rights Compliance

With regard to communication, training and information on human rights compliance two projects are worth mentioning:

S.O.F.I.I.A.: developed by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, it is aimed at increasing occupational level and fostering inclusion of young citizens of third countries in the job market through support (development and implementation of business plans) and training activities (access to public funding and information, economic and financial management, work health and safety) promoting entrepreneurship in agricultural sector;

AFORIL: provides for training activities for non-EU citizens in their countries of origin in view of their subsequent work inclusion in the Italian agroindustry.

Planned Measures

Providing guidance to Italian enterprises abroad through the diplomatic and consular network for the dissemination of UNGPs and the SDGs; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will develop a strategy to implement this process along actions of advocacy, watchdog activities and match making among enterprises;
Support and promote the initiatives adopted by the enterprises associations on human rights, such as the recent European project “Global Industrial Relations, Transnational Company Agreements and Corporate Social Responsibility” led by Confindustria, jointly with the German and French business confederations and the Training Centre of the ILO in Turin. The project, that deals with the respect for human rights at global level, focuses on the available instrument for enterprises for a sustainable management of the global supply chain;
Help disseminating respect of the UNGPs to enterprises investing abroad through an information toolkit for the diplomatic and consular network;
Support the National Dialogue on Sustainable Finance led by the UNEP Inquiry with the Ministry of Environment, and involving major banks, insurances and institutional investors as well as their associations and policy makers;
Promote environmental accounting in sustainability reporting and encouraging the adoption of disclosure processes for the assessment and communication of the environmental and carbon footprint of business;
Strengthen human rights protection and promotion of low-carbon, ecologically sound technologies through climate change international cooperation in line with the OECD Guidelines, the BHR Framework and the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development;
Foster, in cooperation with relevant business association and chambers of commerce, human rights respect among SMEs through the dissemination of toolkits of self-assessment;
Promote, in line with the G7 Declaration on “Action for Fair Production” and with the involvement of social partners/trade unions, the contribution to the Vision Zero Fund with the aim of integrating the ILO norms on this matter among the fundamental standards;
Reaffirm the priority of the elimination of every form of child labour in Italy and with reference to the economic activities of Italian enterprises abroad as provided by the ILO Conventions on this matter; to this purpose, encourage the dissemination among companies of the Italian UNICEF Committee Initiative ‘Business Lab’ aimed at raising the awareness on business impacts on children’s rights and on the need for the inclusion of adequate remedy and mitigation measures;
Encourage companies in the dissemination of anti-discrimination culture by: i) promoting corporate policies and best practices on inclusivity and Diversity Management also via the institutional support to the adhesion, implementation and assessment of the Carta per le Pari Opportunità e l’Uguaglianza sul Lavoro (corporate voluntary initiative launched by Assolombarda in 2009 – which participates in the European Diversity Charter Platform promoted by the EU Commission GD Justice – with the aim of disseminating in Member States a movement to tackle prejudices and enhance talents in diversity); ii) promoting bodies (such as the Osservatorio Aziendale and the Disability Manager) that will have the aim of promoting the inclusion of workers with disabilities within the workplace, as foreseen in the draft of the II Program of Action on Disability; iii) increasing the awareness within the workplace on the serious issue of sexual abuse and domestic violence; iv) providing incentives for corporate training on inclusion, diversity management, gender balance and gender mainstreaming with specific focus on women empowerment and LGBTI rights.

With specific regard to the “OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises”, the Government is committed to:

Implement the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises promoting them among businesses with a focus on the HRs dimension, through an in depth dialogue with businesses, trade unions, non-governmental organizations, representatives of civil society;
Promote common understanding of due diligence among companies and strongly encourage companies to engage in human rights policy and due diligence processes involving the entire supply chain;
Engage directly with business associations, business and business leaders to convey the governments’ expectations on HRs protections;
Produce effective guidance for companies (with special focus on SMEs) including at sector level and disseminate Guidance tools developed by the OECD, EU and other international organisations;
Promote and encourage leading multi-stakeholder initiatives involving both big companies and SMEs for exchange and common action on BHR;
Promote the international framework agreements developed by the International Trade Unions;
Promote the culture of Human Rights protection in business action through analysis, cooperation with universities, training activities, etc;
Participate to initiatives in the context of OECD, EU and other international for a on sustainable supply chains, human rights and due diligence.