A slim paycheck for 900,000 Sardinians . Among the weakest in Italy. For a bittersweet Christmas, perhaps spent thinking more about mortgages, rent, and bills than about buying gifts for loved ones .

Many pensioners have already been hit with a slap in the face with their thirteenth salary, among the lowest on average in Italy and a stark reflection of the economic poverty that has been further hit by the high cost of living in recent years. And in the coming days, even salaried workers will be receiving a "surcharge" far more modest than their colleagues across the Tyrrhenian Sea .

The figures released by INPS and compiled by the Mestre-based CGIA are unequivocal : on the island, the average amount that pensioners and employees will receive as a thirteenth-month bonus will be €750, over €200 less than the €960 received in the rest of the country. A clear disparity.

Further details and insights can be found in Luca Mascia's article, available on newsstands today and on the L'Unione Digital app.

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