Bank of Italy chief calls for minimum wage to improve social justice

Italy has recorded one of the weakest growth rates in wages in Europe over the past 25 years and the share of workers with very low pay has increased, the head of the central bank said, backing the introduction of a minimum wage. "Too many, not just the young, do not have official jobs or, if they do, are not offered adequate contractual conditions," Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco said in the text of a speech on Wednesday.

"Introducing a well-designed minimum wage system could be the response to non-trivial demands for social justice," he added.