Recognizing family caregivers as workers. Petition
Italy, the Guarantor for the rights of persons with disabilities
15th November 2025
EU Budget 2026: Welfare, Not Weapons
27th November 2025
Égalité supports and promotes the signing of the petition 'The 24-hour family caregiver must be recognized as a worker', launched on 4.11.25 by our friend Alessandra Corradi, founder of the association 'Genitori Tosti'.
'In Italy, those who care for a family member who lives with them 24/7 are neither recognized nor supported. They find themselves alone, poor (because they give up work to care), and at risk of depression. The law has been awaited for 30 years, and Parliament has been working on it for 15.'.
Recognizing the family caregiver as a worker, the petition
The petition The application for family caregiver recognition as a worker is aimed at all people who find themselves caring for a non-self-sufficient family member in Italy, without having adequate financial resources.
Family caregivers they cannot do any other work Due to the constant and relentless commitment required for care, they often receive little or no support from social and health services, which are not always organized or effectively accessible to those who are entitled to them.
To recognize These people as workers would mean guaranteeing them a dignity that translates into access to economic resources for living, healthcare in case of illness, moments of rest and the possibility of retiring at a certain age.
Family caregiver, a demanding job
The activity of the family caregiver it is in all respects a strenuous work, since it involves acontinuous nighttime activity and a strenuous physical effort, which often requires physically lifting the patient to provide care.'Those who live in this situation are destined to suffer psychological and physical wear and tear.', explains Alessandra Corradi, 'with a life expectancy that is 17 years lower than the average'.
'Currently the 24/7 family caregiver is in constant state of anxiety at risk of burnout, has no one to replace him, receives no or inadequate care, and must manage to live on very little money, often less than the monthly allowance of his ward. Finally, the family caregiver is subject to that terrible phenomenon of murder-suicide, which in Italy is simply dismissed as a 'desperate act'.'.
Waiting for a single text
'It defines itself family caregiver the person who assists and takes care of the spouse, of the other party in a civil union between persons of the same sex or of the cohabitant in fact pursuant to Law 20 May 2016, n. 76, of a relative or an in-law within the second degree, or, only in the cases indicated by article 33, paragraph 3, of law 5 February 1992, n. 104, of a relative within the third degree who, due to illness, infirmity or disability, even chronic or degenerative, is not self-sufficient and able to take care of themselves, be recognized as disabled as in need of comprehensive and continuous long-term assistance pursuant to Article 3, paragraph 3, of Law No. 104 of 5 February 1992, o is holder of an attendance allowance pursuant to Law No. 18 of 11 February 1980 (Law 205/2017, Article 1, paragraph 255). (2)
The above definition, introduced in the 2018 Finance Act, still lacks concrete meaning in recognizing the rights of family caregivers. Over the past few decades, 19 bills have been introduced in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, and a dedicated committee was even established—Commission XII in the Chamber of Deputies—which began its work in the fall of 2022. Indeed, in lazy debates In the current debate, it has been proposed to introduce the concept of 'main caregiver', even if not cohabiting, rather than referring primarily to the 'family caregiver'. However, we are still waiting for a single text consistent with the commitments that Italy made with Law 18/2009 of ratification and (false) promise of implementation of the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (3)
Participation of interested associations
'This government has excluded from participation in the preparatory work for the new law the very few trade associations', continues the founder of the association 'Genitori Tosti' – 'instead admitting associations of domestic workers and carers or associations of rare diseases which have nothing to do with the real addressee of the law'.
Let's all sign!
It's important sign this petition To give a voice to those who truly care for a dependent loved one, free of charge and without state support, to obtain the recognition they deserve and finally their dignity. We cannot continue to trample on the rights of family caregivers, nor those of the people with severe disabilities they serve, as has always been the case in this country.
#Égalité, #PaceTerraDignità
Dario Dongo
Note
(1) The petition 'The 24-hour family caregiver must be recognized as a worker' https://www.ioscelgo.org/petizioni/il-caregiver-familiare-h24-va-riconosciuto-come-lavoratore/
(2) See paragraph 255 of article 1 of law no. 205 of 27 December 2017. State budget forecast for the financial year 2018 and multi-year budget for the three-year period 2018-2020. Normattiva (last updated to the document published on 06/06/2025). https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:2017;205
(3) Law 3 March 2009, n. 18. Ratification and implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, with Optional Protocol, signed in New York on 13 December 2006 and establishment of the National Observatory on the Condition of Persons with Disabilities. Legislation (last updated to the act published on 27.2.23). https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:2009;18
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
