Italy: far reaching transformation has occurred in recent years in the country’s the industrial relations model

Six years have passed since FCA (then Fiat) quit the country’s employers’ body Confindustria. The resultant seismic effects on the social landscape sparked a series of structural changes that have weakened both the unions and employers’ bodies alike. The country’s social model has nonetheless not disintegrated and sector agreements continue to cover a significant portion of the country’s workers. However company level agreements have gained momentum and new topics are coming to the fore. In this article two experts give an overview.
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Social partners have lost political ground. “Fiat’s departure from Confindustria was a major shock and the large employers and union confederations have been weakened as a result. The social relations community has seen its political influence decline, most notably under the previous Renzi government,” commented Michel Martone, Labor law and social relations professor at the LUISS University in Rome. This erosion was recently seen in terms of the Gentiloni government’s pensions measures,...

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