Italy's Senate on Tuesday approved a decree curbing temporary job contracts and penalising firms that move production abroad, passing the first major legislation by the new government. Job security was an election battle cry of Labour Minister Luigi Di Maio, leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement which has governed with the right-wing League since June 1.
The package of measures, which Di Maio dubbed the "dignity decree", also includes a ban on advertising of all forms of gambling, which 5-Star says hurts families' finances and targets the weakest members of society.
The upper house approved the decree, which was drawn up in early July, by 155 votes to 125. It had already been passed by the Chamber of Deputies and so now becomes law.
The legislation aims to fulfil Di Maio's campaign promise to stop abuse of temporary contracts after former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi passed a law to liberalise their use.
To discourage such contracts, the package increases costs for firms that use them, and reduces the number of times they can be renewed to a maximum of two years from three.
Most of Italy's employers' associations, whose members make heavy use of temporary contracts, have criticised the changes, which opinion polls show have strong voter support.
"This is the first decree for decades that hasn't been dictated by lobbies and vested interests," Di Maio said after the Senate vote. "Finally ordinary people have scored a point."
Italy has repeatedly reformed its hiring and firing rules in recent years as part of efforts to spur growth in the euro zone's third-largest economy. But the changes have failed to overcome a "dual" labour market in which older workers hired under previous, rigid rules enjoy strong job protection, while younger people usually find only temporary work with few rights or benefits.
Some 394,000 temporary jobs were created in the 12 months to June, the most recent figures show, while the number of permanent contracts declined by 83,000.