Italy: Compulsory vaccine passports for all workers

Italy to become first leading European country to make Covid-19 vaccine passports compulsory for all workers.

People hold a silent protest against the so-called Green Pass vaccination passport on September 1, 2021 outside the Porta Nuova railway station in Turin, Italy. Picture: Marco Bertonello/AFP

Italy is to become the first leading European country to make coronavirus vaccine passports compulsory for all state and private employees, with unvaccinated people to be suspended without pay until they obtain one.

Renato Brunetta, the public administration minister, said that the measures had “not been seen elsewhere in Europe” and put Italy on “the front line” against Covid-19.

“Why this hurry?” he said. “Because autumn is starting and the temperature will change and the circulation of the residual virus will increase and there is greater probability of variants that can defeat the vaccine. We have little time.”

Under the new rules, employees who fail to show a pass will be sent home then suspended without pay. Staff who are suspended cannot be sacked. People who enter the workplace without the pass will face a fine of between euros 600 to euros 1,500.

The government already issues the passport to anyone who is vaccinated, has recently recovered from Covid-19, or has tested negative with a rapid test, in which case the pass expires after 48 hours. This means that unvaccinated workers will have to pay for a test every two days to go to work.

Employers will scan the QR code on the employee’s pass using an app on their phone that indicates the passholder’s name, which can then be cross-checked with an identification presented by the holder.

After suffering the second-highest Covid-19 death toll in Europe after Britain, as well as months of lockdown, Italians have backed the scheme, according to polls, and millions have the pass.

However, an estimated 300,000 public sector employees and 3.7 million private sector staff do not. These people have until October 15 — the start date of the scheme — to obtain one.

This week the government had said that it would limit the green pass plan to state employees but Mario Draghi, the prime minister since February, then went further by adding private company staff.

Resistance to the idea from Matteo Salvini, leader of the hard-right League party, has been reined in by strong approval from his senior officials.

Originally envisaged by the EU for use on European borders, the passport system has been adopted by Italy and France to control access to public events.

Italian cinema and theatre-goers, travellers on intercity trains and diners eating inside restaurants already need the pass, as do school teachers and university students.

Italian employers are increasingly ignoring job applicants who do not have the pass. “The green pass has been a success, gently pushing people to get vaccinated without bringing in compulsory jabs,” an official said.

Officials hope that the new rule on public and private sector employees will push the proportion of people over 12 who are fully vaccinated up from 75 per cent to 80 per cent by the end of September before cold weather arrives and the risk of contagion increases.

The Times