Italy Publishes Minimum Acceptable Allowances for Interns and Apprentices
- Italy remains one of the few EU countries without a legally fixed minimum wage, relying instead on sector-level collective agreements
- A 2025 law passed by parliament introduced new measures to extend wage protections to workers not covered by any bargaining agreement
- Over 1,000 sectoral agreements exist in Italy, but nearly 62% of them had expired without renewal as of 2025, raising concerns about pay levels
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Italy stands apart from most European Union member states by having no statutory minimum wage set by law. Instead, the country relies on collective agreements negotiated at the sectoral level between trade unions and employers' organisations, a system that covers the vast majority of Italian workers.
The latest report from the National Economic and Labour Council (CNEL), published in September 2025, put collective bargaining coverage in Italy at close to 100%, a figure that meets the EU Directive's benchmark of 80% and exempts Italy from introducing additional measures to strengthen collective bargaining.
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Special rules apply to interns and apprentices. Extracurricular interns must receive a minimum allowance of at least €300 gross per month under a 2013 national framework, though regional laws set the actual amount, which can reach up to €800 gross per month depending on the region.
How pay floors are determined
Minimum wage levels in Italy are set through national sectoral collective agreements, which are renewed every three years to update both pay and working conditions. Under an inter-confederal agreement signed on April 15, 2009, social partners are obliged to return to the bargaining table at each renewal cycle. Where renewals are delayed, most agreements contain an ultra-activity clause, meaning the existing wage floors remain binding even after expiry, though without any increases.
The three main trade union confederations — CGIL, CISL, and UIL — lead bargaining across virtually all industries. On the employers' side, Confindustria is the most prominent organisation, though the employer landscape is highly fragmented across manufacturing, services, agriculture, cooperatives, and other categories.
As of 2025, CNEL counted just over 1,000 sectoral collective agreements in Italy. Around 62% of them, covering roughly 45% of employees, had not been renewed after their validity period expired. In the commerce sector alone, more than 300 agreements were simultaneously in force or ultra-active, a level of fragmentation that makes it difficult to maintain a clear picture of wage floors across the economy.
New law aims to close gaps
On September 26, 2025, parliament passed Act No. 144/2025, which included provisions to extend the minimum pay conditions established by the most widely applied collective agreements to workers who fall outside any sectoral bargaining framework.
The law requires the government to identify, by sector, which agreements are most representative, and to do so through legislative decrees within six months of the act coming into force. It also introduced mechanisms to support the timely renewal of agreements, with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies expected to step in with wage measures if renewals are delayed or fail entirely.
For workers outside collective bargaining entirely, wages may be freely negotiated between employer and worker, but must meet the adequacy and proportionality principles set out in Article 36(1) of the Italian Constitution, which guarantees every worker a wage sufficient for a dignified life.
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Italy approves citizens of 6 countries to live and work long-term after bilateral agreement
Labour courts have long used the wage floors from the most representative sectoral agreements as a benchmark when assessing whether a particular wage meets constitutional standards.
Italy approves 6 countries to live and work long-term
Legit.ng earlier reported that Italy has granted citizens of six countries the right to live and work within its borders through a Working Holiday Visa programme backed by bilateral government agreements.
Source: Legit.ng
