Jobless researchers in Italy

Articolo in inglese sui precari ISPRA, l'originale qui

By Gaetano Prisciantelli

It's time for holidays in Italy, but not for the over 400 environment researchers who are struggling to keep their jobs.

Protesters claim that Italy's Institute for Environmental Research and Protection (ISPRA) already left 200 researchers jobless last June. Another 230 are likely to follow the same fate as their contracts will expire at the end of this year.

On a hot August afternoon, in Piazza Navona in Rome, jobless researchers performed a theatre piece called "Non sparate alla ricerca" ("Do not shoot research"). The video, also available on YouTube, shows a black-masked politician in a dark suit who shoots at a crowd of people wearing white lab coats and white masks, representing the scientists who would be left jobless if the government continues to delay any decision. After the shooting, the fictitious politician walks away, leaving the boffins on the ground. Only after a few seconds do they stand up again one by one. They leave their coats on the floor and walk in the opposite direction

Promoters of the demonstration claim, in fact, that the value of public research itself is at risk, not just the livelihood of the people concerned. While more and more skilled Italian researchers should be able to look for a new job (most likely abroad), the value of public research in fields such as biodiversity, environmental monitoring, public health and nature conservation is suffering.

Of the tens of jobs already lost, many dealt with waste management, air pollution, nuclear waste management, or marine ecosystem monitoring. Nobody was replaced. After the end of their contract, claimed opposition MP Roberto della Seta, former employees have even been forbidden to return to their desks and collect their belongings. The researchers state in a letter that the government had repeatedly promised to deal with the issue by allocating funds for securing the jobs. Nothing happened, though, while the "precari" workers keep asking the Minister for the Environment, Stefania Prestigiacomo, to find a way to address the issue.

Before Prestigiacomo entered into office, as part of the centre-right government led by Silvio Berlusconi, three different agencies supervised research in areas related to the environment and conservation: APAT specialised in pollution research in general, ICRAM supervising marine biodiversity and conservation, and INFS focusing on fauna. A law passed last year merged the three agencies, who originally hired many of the researchers, into a new one, now called ISPRA (Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale). This move was motivated by the idea of rationalising the research efforts. But, as the website of the Environment Ministry suggests, the budget and the personnel would not suffer from this change.

While workers are in turmoil, the minister is cautiously avoiding any comment. The protest gained solidarity from the environmental NGO Legambiente and the regional environment secretaries, who expressed their joint concern last July 23rd. Now, as the end of the year comes closer, many wonder how the ISPRA will deal with its priorities relying on just half of its original workforce.