Overview

• Voters are deciding on one referendum question to halve the residency requirement for non-EU nationals from ten to five years.
• Four labour measures seek to strengthen worker protections by restricting dismissals; boosting severance for small-business layoffs; converting fixed-term contracts into permanent posts; reinstating joint liability for workplace injuries.
• Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with her coalition partners is urging voters to abstain in hopes of keeping participation below the threshold needed to invalidate the referendum.
• A grassroots campaign backed by over 4.5 million signatures prompted the vote, with the centre-left Democratic Party as well as the CGIL trade union spearheading support.
• Low public awareness combined with polls projecting turnout near 35 percent has fueled uncertainty over whether the required 50 percent quorum will be reached.