Italians set to vote on citizenship and workers’ rights

Referendum
28.05.2025
Italians set to vote on citizenship and workers’ rights
By Lorenza De Luna

Italian citizens will go to the polls to vote on a five-questions abrogative referendum on 8 and 9 June 2025. Let’s explore the content, the process, and the challenges of this referendum – with insights on the Italian context. 

It is almost time for voting in Italy. Eligible voters are called in to the polls on 8 and 9 June 2025 to vote on an abrogative referendum; namely, a referendum that decides whether to retain or repeal a law or decree that is part of the legislature and already implemented. 

The voting will include five referendum questions that address the Jobs Act and citizenship issue. The first four issues related to the job topic concern increasing protection of workers, small enterprises and their obligations towards employees, short-term contracts, and the responsibility of clients towards (sub-)contracting parties and employees’ safety. The fifth question focuses on the reduction of period to be eligible for Italian citizenship.

Quick insight: In places where direct democracy tools have been in use for long time (such as Switzerland), public entities usually prepare and distribute an informative pamphlet with description of voting matters, presenting supporting and contrary argumentations – thanks to a cooperation with experts and committees rooting for both yes and no. In Italy, this informative process does not exist as an official methodology. On the occasion of this referendum, Più Democrazia Italia, a politico-cultural non-partisan group provided an informative pamphlet for citizens. Check here to read it.

But, how did it come to a vote ? 

Under our Direct Democracy Navigator categorisation, this referendum can be characterised as a citizens’ initiative, where “votes can be launched by collecting the necessary number of signatures.” As for this case, the referendum questions were proposed through a bottom-up approach, and did not come from the Parliament. Members of Europa+ party launched the initiative on the citizenship question, whilst the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) has been the initiator of the Jobs Act ones, with support from the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement, and the Green & Left Alliance.

Because it is an abrogative referendum, the questions are directly referred to the population and not subjected to a preliminary vote in the Parliament. Referendum proponents, as a matter of fact, started the collection of signatures, though digital and offline tools. The Italian legislation require a minimum of 500,000 signatures for an initiative to go to popular vote as referendum, to be collected within 90 days. 

Tools of digital participation are quite innovative in the Italian context. A first legislation came about in December 2020, designating budget for the establishment of a digital platform of citizens’ participation. On 18 July 2024, the Online Platform became operative , providing Italian citizens with an official online mechanism for digital signature collection in the context of abrogative and propositive referendum as well as citizens’ initatives.  

Whilst in previous citizens’ initiatives digital campaigning proved decisive to reach the required number of signatures, the establishment of the Online Platform for signature gathering has led to an exponential participation. This clearly shows how relevant it is for direct democracy to shape itself around global changes. In an era of complete digitalisation, citizens’ participation demands its digital tools. It widens access to democracy mechanisms by allowing an exponentially higher number of citizens to voice their ideas on critical matters. In Italy, citizens can add their signature to proposals of support with only their identification documents or accounts (namely, ID, Health Card, or Spid and ADN). The referendum proposals on the ballot this month, especially the one on citizenship, quite easily reached the threshold thanks to the tool. 

Once the number of signatures is reached within the prescribed time frame, the initiatives go to the Supreme Court. In Italy, the Supreme Court has not only jurisdictional functions but has also a pivotal role in legislative elections and abrogative referenda. As for this case, the Court checks the referendum proposals, to evaluate the eligibility, and verifies the signatures. 

Once approved, the referendum proposals get transcribed to the ballot sheets, and it is time for Italians to go vote. Who can vote? Any Italian citizen aged 18 or over is eligible to vote regardless of their place of residence. There are five possible voting processes:

  1. As Italian living in Italy, one can vote in the municipality of registered residence 
  2. As Italian living in Italy, one can vote in a different (non-registered) municipality if temporarily residing there for job, studies, or medical reasons; by applying through a request to the town hall of temporary residence. 
  3. As Italian living abroad registered to the AIRE (Registry of Italians Residing Abroad), one can vote through the Consulate service that sends the ballots by post with no need of a request
  4. As Italian temporarily residing abroad not registered to the AIRE, one can vote through the Consulate service that sends the ballots by post by applying through an online request to the Consulate of reference
  5. As Italian living abroad, one can vote in their municipality of origin in Italy by applying through an online request to the Consulate of reference

Quick insight: it is a common trend for Italians, especially young people, to go study / work to a different Italian city. In the past years, Italians have raised numerous complaints on how requiring citizens to go back to their electoral municipality was hindering the protection and exercise of democracy. People were unable to travel home, because of work/health/study responsibilities as well as for the raise in travel prices for the voting dates. Finally, on the occasion of the referendum this article discusses, in March 2025, a new Legislative Decree (no. 27/2025) has come into place to regulate the voting in municipalities of temporary residence on an experimental basis. 

What happens next? The quorum controversy and the dangers for democracy

After the voting days, the ballots are verified, and the referendum quorum needs to be reached. Italy has a 50% participation quorum, calculated for each referendum question individually. This means that if less than 50% of Italian eligible voters do not go to the polls, the referendum does not reach the Parliament and does not pass. If on the other hand the quorum is reached, and the YES gets majority, the proposals get implemented due to the legally binding aspect of Italian referenda.

Here is where this great voting scenario fails. In the past weeks and months, parties on the right have taken quite an interesting attitude, including politicians who are leading the country. State representatives are suggesting, or rooting for Italian citizens to restrain from voting. The political group has not only been silent regarding the referendum to their supporters, but is now also supporting and legitimising the abstention to vote. The biggest risk of high quorums is, indeed, the spread of boycott strategies. For opponents of the referendum question, it is more strategic to abstain from voting, rather than going to the polls and vote NO; hereby adding the no-vote numbers to the numbers of citizens who are simply not touched by the question and don’t wish to express themselves either way. 

The Italian context shows a complex scenario for democracy. Digital innovation and openness to widen access to participation on the one side, and adverse political representatives obstructing democratic decisions on the other. For a democracy to effectively function, citizens’ participation is key, and only bringing all the voices into decision-making renders a democratic State representative of its population.

At the moment, surveys show that only around 40% of Italians declared intentions to vote. Even if below the quorum, the number of Italians interested to go to the polls has increased since the last weeks. Follow us on our social media to get the updates after the votes, will we reach the quorum?

Final insight: If you are interested in the ongoing citizens’ initiatives in Italy and their status in signature collection, check the link here. At the moment, a very popular one is "Referendum UGUALI!" (EQUALS!) on the topic of same-sex marriage, which has now already 343.053 signatures collected since 05.05.2025.

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Referendum

In short, the focus of referendum questions:
 

1)     Referendum – Jobs Act: increasing protections

The Legislative Decree 23/2015 on increasing workers’ protections concerns newly hired employees, unfair and illegitimate dismissals, and their relative economic compensations are limited to very specific cases and clauses. This referendum proposes the abrogation of this piece of legislation to obtain increased protection of workers by eliminating the restrictions in protection and compensation in matters of unjustified termination of contracts.

2)     Referendum – Jobs Act: small enterprises

Art.8 of 1966 Law n. 604 refers to individual dismissals and relative compensation. The article prescribes that small enterprises are not obliged to comply with the same requirements and formalities of bigger enterprises in regard to dismissals. Eventually, this allows small enterprises to terminate contracts through an easier and less expensive process – with compensations being reflective of length of service. This referendum proposes the abrogation of parts of the article to render small enterprises accountable of same processes as big enterprises and aspire to enhance workers’ protections in case of dismissals.

3)     Referendum – Jobs Act: fixed-term contracts

Art.19 of the Legislative Decree 81/2015 is the legislation addressing fixed-term contracts. It states fixed-term contracts can last up to 12 months. They may be extended to 24 months only under specific conditions. Without a justification (“causale”), contracts cannot exceed 12 months, and no more than four extensions are allowed within 24 months—beyond that, the contract automatically becomes permanent. These rules aim to prevent the misuse of fixed-term contracts and promote job stability. The referendum proponents seek to eliminate parts of the Art.19 – requiring employers to always provide a justification, even for fixed-term contracts shorter than 12 months.

4)     Referendum – Jobs Act: contracting and sub-contracting

The Legislative Decree 81/2008 addresses on the client’s responsibility in regard to contracting and subcontracting, specifically on health and safety on the workplace. Art. 26 of the legislation prescribes that the client (i.e. the company or body that entrusts a job to an external company) is responsible for the safety of the contractor's or subcontractor's workers, unless the damages arise from risks specific to the activity of the contracting or subcontracting companies. This referendum proposes to abrogate a section of the article, widening the clients’ responsibility on workers’ safety and health beyond the exceptions prescribed as for now.

5)     Referendum – citizenship

The current legislation establishes that Italian citizenship may be granted to a foreign citizen who has lived in Italy for at least 10 years. This referendum question proposes to halve that period, reducing been legally residing in the country it to 5 years, whilst keeping all other requirements already established by current legislation and jurisprudence unchanged (including knowledge of the Italian language, possession of adequate financial resources, professional suitability, compliance with tax obligations, and the absence of any impediments related to the security of the State). In Italy, the number of people who meet these requirements and could benefit directly or indirectly (e.g. cohabiting minor children) from the proposed change is about 2.5 million.

Lorenza De Luna is an International Relations specialist working for Democracy International on project management and fundraising. Prior to joining the Democracy International Team, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Leiden University and a Master’s degree in Applied Human Rights from Angewandte University in Vienna. Passionate about human rights, democracy, and international relations, she engaged in several projects on the issues, with a realistic vision of inclusive and just society.