A crackdown on absenteeism among public sector workers has proven hugely successful and could raise Italy's GDP by a percentage point, Civil Service Minister Renato Brunetta said on Monday.
''Absenteeism has plunged by 45%,'' Brunetta told a TV interviewer, stressing that ''this means that we have some 100,000 more workers showing up every day''.
''You can see the difference in schools, in hospitals, in (public) offices....but this is still not enough''.
''I'm not taking a swipe at public workers. In fact, I would like them to take pride in their work, have them say:'as a public worker I'm playing a fundamental role'''.
His comments came amid a flap over a remark made during the weekend that public workers were ashamed of their jobs, unlike workers at Ferrari.
''If someone is a teacher, a bureaucrat or clerk at the land registry office they're ashamed to say what job they do. Instead, if he can tell his son 'I'm a lathe turner at Ferrari, he does so with a smile, with pride and dignity''.
The comments sparked an uproar in the centre-left opposition and Communist Refoundation Party leader Paolo Ferrero urged him to quit.
According to Brunetta, if productivity increases by 20-40%, GDP would grow by a percentage point and ''do its bit to help Italy overcome the credit crisis''.
The minister says his drive to increase the presence of staff in public offices means more service and a better quality of performance, with fewer queues and more offices open.
Brunetta's campaign against the so-called 'fannulloni', or slackers, has made him one of the most popular ministers in the centre-right government led by Silvio Berlusconi.
His crackdown followed publicity over public sector workers who were taking unnecessary sick leave, getting colleagues to clock on and off for them, or arriving at the office to stamp their own cards before leaving again.
The minister has also announced plans to introduce a reward system which will be based on how effectively workers do their job as well as the number of days they turn up for work.
He has also set up badge-swipe turnstiles at the premier's office.
