A couple of weeks before Christmas, Maria got a call from an employment agency that she’d registered with, for a German-speaking job in Civitanova Marche, a half-hour from here. After the interview, she was hired on a probationary basis, and so our lives changed.
The job entailed talking on the phone to German car sellers for an Italian who buys them and resells them to his clients here. The cars are identified on an online German website, and then drivers are sent up to bring the cars back. The proprietor is a 30-something-year-old choleric who walks about the office yelling and screaming, and has yet to direct a word Maria’s way. Apparently he’s been inside the clink.
Also in the office are an Italian (a qualified schoolteacher), and a Croatian. They are the first responders to phone calls coming in from the Italian clients. Leticia, the Italian, is friendly and an ally. Maurizia, the Croatian, is sullen and prone to outbreaks of tears and frustration, and, as it turns out, not to be trusted.
The atmosphere is barely short of a penitentiary – cameras monitor every move, phone calls are recorded, and all work on the computers is tracked. Talk about Big Brother! Here’s a man who clearly doesn’t trust himself.
When Maria returned from Germany, she discovered that she didn’t have a contract for January, and so decided to stay home until they resolved it (given that she wouldn’t be paid without a contract). The boss wanted to make it the Croatian’s decision so that she could be blamed if something went wrong either way. The Croatian didn’t want the decision because she’d be blamed if something went wrong. Wonderful situation.
It’s now been 3 days, and they haven’t even bothered to call. Chances are they’ve decided not to continue with Maria, but they simply don’t have the guts or the courtesy to pick up the phone and let her know.
Not that she’s sweating it. Having someone peer over your shoulder at your every move for €7 an hour isn’t exactly what I’d call motivating…
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I have been reading your blog regularly (almost daily looking for updates). Since I have an Italian wife and my in laws are in town, the updates give me planty to talk about around the dinner table. I share some of your perceptions on Italy and the Italian way of life. Is it the stagnant economy that resulted in the mommone or is it the other way around. An Economist article summed it up nice, Too many people have had it too good for too long and Italy is ready for an implosion. Looks like you are witnessing it...
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