Legge sindacale: le ragioni del no

Una legge sulla rappresentanza sindacale? Se ne parla da oltre sessant’anni, in ragione della mancata attuazione dell’art. 39 Cost. La recente sentenza della Corte costituzionale n. 231/2013, che trae spunto dalla dura contrapposizione tra Sergio Marchionne e Maurizio Landini, non ha fatto altro che ravvivare un dibattito mai sopito. Lo testimoniano le numerose proposte di legge elaborate nel corso degli anni, a partire dal celebre “progetto Rubinacci” presentato alla Camera il 4 dicembre 1951. Solo nel breve scorcio della XVII Legislatura sono ben cinque i testi depositati in Parlamento. Basterebbe invero ripercorrere con attenzione le ragioni più profonde di sessant’anni di astensionismo legislativo per placare la frenesia e l’iperattivismo di chi prospetta un comodo intervento parlamentare che, nel mettere finalmente d’accordo Fiat e Fiom, sciolga in un sol colpo nodi storici legati a visioni profondamente contrapposte circa il ruolo e la funzione del sindacato in una società moderna. Questo era quanto pronosticato prima della pausa estiva da alcuni colleghi prestati alla politica, che già parlavano di un accordo tra Fiat e Cgil sui testi proposti, senza che però agli annunci abbiano fatto seguito passi concreti. Anzi, contro la legge sindacale si sono pronunciati i segretari delle maggiori organizzazioni sindacali Luigi Angeletti, Raffaele Bonanni, il Presidente della Commissione lavoro del Senato (e con esso metà della coalizione di Governo) e anche, seppure in modo prudente e perlopiù informale, il Ministro del lavoro Giovannini

Young Workers in Recessionary Times: A Caveat to (Continental) Europe to Reconstruct its Labour Law?

The current debate taking place in continental Europe on the need to reform labour law to reduce the duality between labour market insiders and outsiders, thus giving new employment opportunities to young people seems to be, at its best, a consequence of the crisis, or at its worst, an excuse. The considerable emphasis placed on the power of legislation to reduce youth unemployment prevents real labour market problems from being clearly identified, thus reducing the scope to adopt more effective measures. Action is certainly required to help young people during the current crisis, yet interventions should not be exclusively directed towards increased flexibility and deregulation. This paper questions the \u201cthaumaturgic power\u201d wrongly attributed to legislative interventions and put forward a more holistic approach to solve the problem of youth employment, by focusing on the education systems, school-to-work transition and industrial relations. As a comparative analysis demonstrates, in order to effectively tackle the issue of youth employment, it is not enough to reform labour law. High quality education systems, apprenticeship schemes, efficient placement and employment services, cooperative industrial relations and flexible wage determination mechanisms are the key to success when it comes to youth employment, not only in times of recession

Overcoming Natural and Environmental Disasters: the Role of Industrial Relations and Some Reflections on the Italian Case

The violent quakes that hit Italy \u2013 particularly the Emilia Romagna region \u2013 in May and June 2012 shed light on an innovative aspect in the management and preparation of natural disasters. What was striking about this tragedy was that most of the fatalities were workers who survived the earthquake, but soon afterwards were being recalled to duty to resume their working activity and commence post-disaster reconstruction. More than likely, a more effective dialogue between employers and trade unions would have avoided these fatalities. This proposition draws on past experience, more notably the earthquake which took place in the Umbria region between 1997 and 1998, and highlights the major role played by the industrial relations system in preparing for and dealing with natural and environmental disasters. On that occasion, the Single Insurance Contribution Payment Certificate (\u201cDocumento unico di regolarit\ue0 contributiva\u201d \u2013 DURC) was issued to ensure that only employers who comply with anti-seismic regulations were involved in rebuilding. DURC was intended as a tool to single out compliant employers to be engaged in the reconstruction work and safeguard, albeit indirectly, workers and individuals operating in the areas hit by the disaster. Originally an industrial relations practice, DURC was implemented through national legislation and emerged as a major tool against irregular work, especially in those sectors where contracting and subcontracting were widespread phenomena. Drawing on DURC, Italian legislation made provision to include within the Consolidated Act on Occupational Health and Safety of 2008 (\u201cTesto Unico della salute e sicurezza sul lavoro\u201d) a state-of-the-art procedure to single out the market operators and, albeit indirectly, safeguard workers and people. In effect, this selection procedure is based on a system of qualification according to which only qualified employers with technical and professional expertise specified in the collective agreement are allowed to operate in certain industries. To this end, suitable employers need to meet some criteria concerning contractual requirements \u2013 especially in contracting out tasks and activities \u2013 related for instance to aspects of health and safety at work. The qualification system addressed the most dangerous sectors and activities and at the moment applies to confined spaces, although it can be considered in the event of other types of natural disasters (mine collapses, marine oil spills, industrial pollution and land contamination). On the basis of these considerations, this paper investigates social dialogue and the industrial relations system, considering their role in the event of natural disasters (earthquakes and floods), also making reference to similar \u2013 albeit different \u2013 phenomena falling within the rubric of \u201cenvironmental disasters\u201d. After providing a cursory overview of the problem at a European and international level, the focus will move on to the Italian case. In this sense, an attempt will be made to shed light on attitudes and codes of conduct implemented in emergency situations which have now become common practice in industrial relations, thus providing an innovative contribution to social dialogue at company and sectorial level

Alcune note critiche sull\u2019accordo collettivo europeo in materia di lavoro a tempo determinato

SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione. \u2013 2. Un risultato apprezzabile per il valore simbolico, ma inadeguato per i contenuti. \u2013 3. Lavoro a termine e tecniche di regolazione della fattispecie: una prospettiva italiana. \u2013 4. Segue: un giudizio nel merito circa la tecnica di regolamentazione della fattispecie adottata dalle parti sociali europee. \u2013 5. Conclusioni. Contratto di lavoro subordinato a tempo indeterminato e contratto a termine: una contrapposizione superata dalla evoluzione pi\uf9 recente dei rapporti economici e sociali

L’apprendistato dopo il Jobs Act

SOMMARIO: 1. La riforma dell’apprendistato: una visione d’insieme. – 2. L’impianto normativo del nuovo apprendistato. – 3. Definizione e obiettivi del nuovo apprendistato. – 4. Il riordino della disciplina generale. – 5. Il quadro regolatorio dell’apprendistato di primo livello. – 5.1. Art. 43, commi 1-3. – 5.2. Art. 43, comma 4. – 5.3. Art. 43, comma 5. – 5.4. Art. 43, commi 6 e 7. – 5.5. Art. 43, comma 8. – 5.6. Art. 43, comma 9. – 6. Gli interventi in materia di apprendistato professionalizzante. – 7. L’apprendistato di alta formazione e di ricerca. – 8. Standard professionali e formativi: la fine di una logica di sistema. – 9. Le disposizioni finali e il quadro complesso della disciplina transitoria. – 10. Conclusioni

Glancing at the Past: An Agreement for the Markets of XXIst Century

The European Framework Agreement on Fixed-term Work signed by ETUC-UNICE-CEEP on 18 March 1999, represents a significant example of how European Governments and social parties are trying to regulate the new phenomena that are continuously evolving by using a juridical instrumentation which in many aspects is antiquated. Efforts are being made to govern the logic of the so called ‘new economy’ with rules and juridical principles which have been shaped by looking at the reality of the models of organisation in the fordist taylorist vein, when the confines of the State and those of the market still coincided. From this point of view, taking into consideration the radical changes that are characterising all western economies, the difficulties that face the supra-national actors are not so different from those that face the actors at the national or local level. At the European level, in reality, the task of the institutions called to regulate the labour markets of the XXIst Century is made even more complicated, not to mention, uncertain by the often denounced fragility of the European decision making process as regards the topic of labour

Productive Employment and the Evolution of Training Contracts in Italy

In Italy training contracts have a long history. Provisions for these contract date back to the 1950s, when regulations for apprenticeship contacts were adopted. In the 1980s another phase begun, with the spread of new types of contract, in particular employment training contracts, to promote the employment of young people. The system was recently updated as part of the Biagi reform. These new measures are intended to end the ambiguity and misunderstanding surrounding the use of training contracts in Italy. Especially in recent years, apprenticeship and employment contracts in general have been used improperly. Training objectives have been given scant regard, while the emphasis has been on providing state subsidies for industry, a policy no longer permitted by the European Commission, or integrating certain groups into the labour market