«Meanwhile»... a walk through socio-labour news 2017 unveiling the «small print» of their «texts»

Abstract

Sooner rather than later, the year 2017 will meet a new labour reform. Numerous reasons make this clear –bills and drafts considered in the Parliament, reform projects triggered by reports coming from expert committees to try to adapt to earthquakes with a judiciary epicentre, new rulings–. But, in the meantime, the Government, either through regulation or via self-made law-binding decrees, even by omission (not reproducing the suspension of the extended paternity leave, so many times provided in consecutive general budget laws), has reactivated the social and labour law production process. The pages in the Official Journal show a noteworthy handful of novelties that, aside from their very own relevance, appear as real scaled down thresholds to deeper and broader in scope ones, auspiciously announced as The Great New Labour Reform. But, although the Government, and often public opinion, has welcomed them as relevant social and laboral improvements (raising minimum wages, extending paternity leaves, reenacting youth employment policies, etc.) a quieter reading of the text brings out small print all over them diluting that real or pretend but anyway exhibited «social soul» and letting the aiming to remain hidden «economic soul» of every labour law emerge.