The new rule that requires all workers in the country to prove that they are vaccinated against Covid-19 or have regular negative tests entered into force this Friday in Italy, which provoked protests in Italian cities and ports. Italy’s new demands are the strictest measures of this kind ever implemented in Western countries to contain the pandemic.
All workers, whether private or public, must obtain a “green passport” – a government-issued document that proves that the person is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, has recovered from an infection in the past six months, or has had a test result. negative in the previous two days.
The passport, which can be installed on the cell phone, must be presented at all workplaces. Employees who go to work without a valid passport may be fined up to 1,500 euros (about R$ 9,500). Civil servants who attend work without the document five times can be suspended without remuneration. Employers can also be punished.
Since the beginning of September, the certificate is already required for entry into museums, academies, theatres, indoor areas of restaurants and other places, as well as for traveling on long-distance trains and buses or domestic flights in Italy.
Thousands of Italians took to the streets this Friday to protest the measures. In the port city of Trieste, around 6,000 people participated in the demonstration organized by labor groups. A representative of a local union told the press that around 40% of the port’s workers are unvaccinated, a higher proportion of unvaccinated than the rest of Italy’s population.
Several protesters told the press that they consider the passport a form of discrimination among the population.
Ivano Russo, director of the General Confederation of Transport and Logistics of Italy, an employers’ association, told the AFP news agency that some 900,000 truck drivers, delivery workers and warehouse workers do not have health certificates. The number represents about 25% to 30% of the total workforce, according to the director.
In the port city of Genoa, about 100 protesters blocked access to trucks, according to Reuters.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government defended the green passport as a way to avoid further lockdowns in Italy, one of the European countries most affected by Covid-19, especially at the beginning of the pandemic.
Data from the Italian government indicate that 81% of the population over 12 years old, which is already able to receive the vaccine, has already been fully vaccinated, and that 85% of these people have already taken at least the first dose of an immunizing agent.
A government document, obtained by Reuters, estimates that around 15% of private sector workers and 8% of public servants still do not have a green passport.
Some political parties and unions argue that negative Covid tests should be valid for 72 hours, not just 48 hours, and that they should be free for unvaccinated workers.
But the Italian government has so far not accepted the proposal. The center-left Democratic Party and part of the governing coalition says that free testing would be the equivalent of an amnesty for tax evaders.
Electronic scanners that scan passport QR codes on mobile phones are already installed in larger workplaces, reports Euronews. However, in small places like restaurants or gyms, owners or managers needed to download an app capable of reading the codes. While it remains unclear how authorities will enforce the measure, fear of searches has led employers to comply, at least initially.
While workers generally have the option of presenting a negative diagnosis, healthcare professionals are the only category in the country for whom vaccination against Covid-19 is mandatory. Teachers and school professionals have been required to present a green passport since September.