The current page is not translated to the selected language.
This record reviews 2003's main developments in industrial relations in Italy.
The centre-right coalition of parties elected in May 2001, the House of Freedoms (Casa delle Libertà), continued to govern during 2003, led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The coalition is composed of Forza Italia, the National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale), the Northern League (Lega Nord) and the Centre Christian Democratic Union (Unione Democratica Cristiana di Centro, Udc).
The opposition centre-left coalition (Ulivo) comprises the Democratic Left (Democratici di Sinistra, Ds), Margherita, the Greens (Federazione dei Verdi), the Democratic Union for Europe (Unione Democratici per l'Europa, Udeur), the Party of Italian Communists (Partito dei Comunisti Italiani, Pdci), the Italian Democratic Socialists (Socialisti Democratici Italiani, Sdi) and the European Republicans (Repubblicani Europei). Also aligned on the centre-left, but not belonging to the coalition, are the Communist Refoundation Party ( Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, Prc) and Italy of Values-Di Pietro List (Italia dei Valori-Lista Di Pietro).
Between the end of May and the beginning of June 2003, more than 11 million Italians went to the polls to elect two regional administrations (in Friuli Venezia Giulia and Valle d’Aosta), 12 provincial administrations (the most important of which was Rome) and almost 500 municipal administrations, nine of which were provincial capitals (among them Brescia, Pisa, Pescara and Messina). Total turn-out was 66.5% of those entitled to vote. The results showed a certain degree of success by the centre-left coalition,. The coalition won a majority in both of the regional councils, the provincial administration of Rome, and five of the nine provincial capitals. Compared with the last general election in 2001, the Ds, the largest opposition party, increased its vote by 4.9%, while Forza Italia, the party headed by Mr Berlusconi, lost 4.1% of its vote across the country.
Important local elections will be held in the first half of 2004 (their specific date has not yet been fixed although it seems that the government intends to have them coincide with the European Parliament elections of 12 and 13 June). Besides renewing a large proportion of municipal councils and involving more than half of all voters, these elections will be an important political test, because they may influence not only relations between the ruling majority and opposition, but also relations within the two coalitions.
According to a survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics (Istituzione nazionale di statistica, Istat), at the end of November 2003, there were 57 national sectoral collective agreements in force. Their pay provisions covered 8.6 million workers and 71.2% of the total paybill surveyed. At the same time, 19 national sectoral agreements were awaiting renewal, covering 3.7 million dependent employees representing 28.8% of the total paybill.
In the public sector, a new collective agreement was signed for 280,000 ministry employees on 28 February 2003, thus concluding negotiations that had lasted for 14 months (IT0303204F). On 16 October, a national agreement for the employees of local bodies was signed (IT0311103N), the first since a reform of Title V of the Italian Constitution that introduced greater decentralisation of powers to local authorities (IT0212209F). The most important innovation in the new accord concerns public bodies employing fewer than 30 workers. These bodies will be allowed to conduct decentralised bargaining at local level by grouping together with other local bodies operating in the same area. Of particular importance are new rules protecting workers involved in transformation, contracting-out and privatisation processes, who will still be covered by the national collective agreement for local bodies.
In the private sector, after around four months of negotiations, a 2003-6 national collective agreement for the metalworking sector (IT0305204F) was signed in May 2003 by the Employers’ Association of the Italian Metal-Mechanical Industry (Federazione sindacale dell'industria metalmeccanica italiana, Federmeccanica) and on the trade union side by the Italian Metal-Mechanical Federation (Federazione italiana metalmeccanici, Fim) affiliated to the Italian Confederation of Workers' Unions (Confederazione italiana sindacati lavoratori, Cisl), and the Union of Italian Metal-Mechanical Workers (Unione italiana lavoratori metalmeccanici, Uilm) affiliated to the Union of Italian Workers (Unione italiana del lavoro, Uil). The Italian Federation of Metalworkers (Federazione impiegati operai metallurgici, Fiom), affiliated to the General Confederation of Italian Workers (Confederazione generale italiana del lavoro, Cgil), did not sign the agreement and harshly criticised the deal. The metalworking collective agreement is particularly significant in Italian industrial relations because it is regarded as the most important industry-wide accord (it covers some 1.3 million workers, 60% of whom are blue-collar workers). The main innovations introduced by the agreement are a revision of job classifications - the aim being to create a system which more closely reflects new forms of work organisation and gives adequate recognition to workers’ professional skills - the creation of a national joint body, and a set of measures with regard to continuing training.
Another important national agreement concluded during the year - on 16 April after more than three years of negotiations which began with an agreement in November 1999 (IT9912349F) - was the first sectoral agreement for the railway industry (IT0305203F). The deal was signed by the Confederal Agency of Transport and Services (Agenzia confederale dei trasporti e servizi, Agens) - the employers’ association which represents the firms of the Italian State Railways (Ferrovie dello Stato, FS) group - together with a delegation of railway companies, with the assistance of Confindustria, Italy's largest employers’ organisation. On the railway trade unions’ side, it was signed by the Italian Federation of Transport (Federazione italiana trasporti, Fit), the Italian Federation of Transport Workers (Federazione italiana lavoratori trasporti, Filt) and the Union of Italian Transport Workers (Unione italiana lavoratori trasporti, Uiltrasporti), assisted by their respective confederations Cisl, Cgil and Uil, and by two independent unions, the Union of Drivers and Railway Activities (Sindacato macchinisti e attività ferroviarie, Sma) and the Railway General Workers’ Union (Unione generale del lavoro-Ferrovie, Ugl-Ferrovie), assisted by the General Workers’ Union (Unione generale del lavoro, Ugl) confederation. The most significant aspect of the new agreement is its extension to the railway sector of the two-tier collective bargaining structure introduced by the national intersectoral tripartite agreement of 23 July 1993 on incomes policy and bargaining structure (IT9709212F). This allows for elimination of the specific features of the railway sector and for its full alignment with the private sector, as has already happened in the other liberalised sectors (telecommunications, electricity, gas and water).
In June 2003, with the objective of consolidating industrial relations practices aimed at achieving economic development and employment growth, and in order to propose detailed solutions on some specific issues, Cgil, Cisl and Uil signed with Confindustria a 'Pact for development, employment and the competitiveness of the national economic system' (IT0307105F). It sets out four priorities intended to relaunch Italy’s economic and social development and enable the country to escape from its current situation of economic stagnation. These four priorities were research, the South of the country (the Mezzogiorno), infrastructures and training.
According to Istat data collected in November 2003, the index of collectively-agreed hourly wages for dependent employees stood at 107.3, which represented a zero increase since October 2003 and one of 2.5% since November 2002. The increase recorded in the period January-November 2003, compared with the same period in the previous year, was 2.1%. After remaining steadily at 2.8% until September, in October and November inflation - according to Istat figures - fell appreciably, and in November was running at 2.5%.
The new 2003-6 collective agreement for the metalworking sector (IT0305204F) introduced measures to facilitate the setting up of an 'hours bank', enabling workers to use immediately overtime hours set aside in the bank to take time off. The parties also undertook to define, within 90 days of the entry into force of new legislative decrees on labour market reform (see below under 'Legislative developments'), possible changes to the agreement’s provisions which would take account of the new legal framework, particularly as regards part-time work, and to examine the issues left to collective bargaining by the new laws.
A new national agreement for postal workers was signed in July by Poste Italiane Spa and the confederal unions in the sector - Slc-Cgil, Slp-Cisl, Uil-post, assisted by their respective confederations (Cgil, Cisl and Uil) - the General Labour Union (Unione Generale del Lavoro, Ugl) and a number of autonomous unions. The main innovations introduced by the agreement concern working time flexibility, employment relationships, and a new job classification system (IT0308103N). The agreed weekly working time of 36 hours remains unchanged, but has been given a more flexible daily distribution, with work organised into five- and six-day shifts with rotating personnel. Lower-level bargaining may establish multi-week working time schedules whereby workers, on a rotating basis, also work on Saturdays. The agreement also regulates: work on holidays, night work and overtime work, all of which are made compulsory; and the use of flexible forms of employment, such as temporary agency work, fixed-terms contracts, and telework, this last being introduced on an experimental basis, with a joint observatory set up to monitor the results.
Measures on job security have been introduced mainly with regard to company restructuring and reorganisation processes, which once again in 2003, in a particularly unfavourable economic climate, involved firms in almost all sectors. Linked to these aspects are efforts to support training initiatives at local and company level (see below under 'Training and skills development').
Following a series of trade-union protests, the airline Alitalia suspended its 2004-6 'industrial plan', which envisages a total of 2,700 redundancies (IT0404304F), until 31 January 2004 so that meetings could be held by the government, the social partners and the company to define support measures for workers affected by the restructuring. The government has proposed the use of 'solidarity contracts' and of the Wages Guarantee Fund (Cassa integrazione guadagni, Cig) (IT0311306T) while early retirements have been ruled out for the time being.
In June 2003, the Fiat motor manufacturing group submitted a second industrial plan to the government (following one approved in November 2002 - IT0212211F), which commits EUR 19 billion to investments, restructuring, and research and development. The plan also involves further cuts in costs and personnel affecting 12,300 workers, of whom 3,100 will be in Italy, the closure of 12 plants, of which only one (Magneti Marelli) is in Italy, and the hiring of 5,400 workers, of whom 1,600 will be in Italy (TN0312101S).
On 7 March 2003, Fim-Cisl, Fiom-Cgil, Uilm-Uil and the Italian subsidiaries of the UK-owned Marconi telecommunications group reached an agreement which cut the number of redundancies envisaged by a restructuring plan announced in March 2002 from 1,100 to 430 (IT0304105N). The redundancies will be managed on a 'solidaristic' basis, with reduced working hours for a large part of the group’s workforce. This involvers the use on a rotating basis of the Wages Guarantee Fund, the introduction of a 'mobility scheme' for a small number of workers and incentives for voluntary departures. An outplacement service is also provided for redundant workers, and if this option is taken up, the incentive payments for leaving the company will be reduced. Workers on the Wages Guarantee Fund will be offered vocational training courses to facilitate their re-entry into work.
In the area of equal opportunities, the growing numbers of women in employment and their need to balance work with family responsibilities in the best way possible have induced many companies to make their organisation more flexible and introduce measures to support family management and the care of small children (where the provision of public services is most unsatisfactory) (IT0306204F). For example, an agreement was signed in Milan on 13 January 2003 (IT0302102N) by the local organisations of the Cgil, Cisl and Uil trade union confederations and the local Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (Api), aimed at overcoming problems with application of Law 53/2000. This legislation provides for the allocation, on behalf of the Ministry of Labour, of non-reimbursable funds for the realisation of actions aimed at encouraging the reconciliation of work and private life. The agreement provides for projects to reconcile work and family life for workers at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the city and province of Milan.
The new collective agreement for ministry employees signed in February 2003 contains innovative provisions on sexual harassment and bullying at the workplace. The agreement establishes a reference code of conduct to combat sexual harassment in the workplace, as envisaged by a November 1991 European Commission Recommendation (92/131/EEC). A series of guidelines are laid down for the various administrations, each of which will have to draw up its own code of conduct (IT0303204F).
The new collective agreement for workers in the insurance sector signed in July (IT0309102N) provides for the setting up of joint equal opportunities committees at company level. They will be responsible for examining the history of women’s presence in the company, detecting possible obstacles to women’s careers, suggesting initiatives aimed at preventing sexual harassment, and identifying opportunities for professional advancement available to women. Moreover, particular attention will be paid to the gender balance of employees participating in vocational training and retraining courses organised by companies. A joint observatory will be set up to monitor the problem of workplace bullying, analyse potential problematic situations, plan positive actions to prevent bullying, and define codes of conduct.
According to a report on the Italian training system published by the Institute for the Development of Vocational Training (Istituto per lo Sviluppo della Formazione Professionale dei lavoratori, Isfol) in September 2003, the intersectoral continuing vocational training funds (IT0202103F) - now being slowly created with the purpose of providing financial support for in-company training - cover only 25% of private companies (IT0310104F).
The new collective agreement for the metalworking sector has introduced paid leave for workers who left school early to study for upper-secondary education certificates, while foreign workers may use the 250 hours of paid leave to attend courses in the Italian language. One of the sections of metalworking national sectoral joint body will be concerned with training and will collaborate with Fondimpresa- the intersectoral joint body set up by Confindustria, Cgil, Cisl and Uil to manage the funds set aside for vocational training - as regards the metalworking sector.
The main reform measures implemented by the government during 2003 were: law no. 30/2003 reforming the labour market (the 'Biagi law') and the implementing legislative decree 276/2003; the completion of transposition of the EU working time Directive; and law no. 53/2003 reforming the educational and vocational training system. The current centre-right government also approved a 'proxy law' (a law which delegates power to the government to legislate on particular matters) reforming the social security system, which it intended to have approved by parliament by the end of January 2004.
The law reforming the labour market comprises most of the proposals made by Marco Biagi (the government labour law consultant murdered by the Red Brigades - IT0203108N) and set out in a 2001 White Paper on the labour market (IT0207104F), and applies some of the measures envisaged by the July 2002 'Pact for Italy'- - a national agreement on the labour market, the tax system and the South of Italy (IT0110104F). The law aims to improve the efficiency of job placement services and to increase labour market participation by introducing new forms of employment contract (IT0307204F and IT0303103N). The social partners expressed conflicting opinions on the contents of the reform law. Confindustria gave it almost complete approval while Cisl and Uil expressed moderate satisfaction. However, Cgil declared that the reform would have extremely negative consequences for workers. From September 2003, interconfederal talks ('tavoli interconfederali') were held on matters that the law explicitly leaves to collective bargaining.
On 4 April, the cabinet definitively approved legislative decree 66/2003 which completed transposition of the EU working time Directive (93/104/EC), as modified by Directive 2000/34/EC (which extended the original working time Directive to previously excluded sectors and activities) into Italian law (IT0305305F) . The new regulations came into force on 29 April. The legislative decree regulates all aspects of working time in the public and private sectors, adapting to the flexibility requirements of the Directive, and covers normal weekly working time, overtime, daily rest, breaks, weekly rest periods, annual holidays, night work and derogations from the law.
Law no. 53/2003 reforming the educational system (IT0304106F) - approved by parliament on 12 March - reorganises compulsory schooling by dividing it into two cycles, preceded by nursery school and followed by attendance at a university or an institute of higher technical education and training. Through this change to the educational system, the government has set itself the ambitious goal of adjusting the national school system to the needs of a knowledge-based economy. The law - which was strongly opposed by Cgil, Cisl and Uil and the main autonomous unions in the sector (Cobas and Snals) - will be enacted by means of legislative decrees which the Ministry of Education should issue by April 2005 (ie within 24 months of the law’s entry into force).
With regard to reform of the pensions system, the government approved a proxy law on social security with the intention of having it approved by parliament by the end of January 2004 (IT0309203F). The scheme drawn up by the government provides incentives for people qualifying for a 'seniority pension' (based on employment history) to remain in work and, from 2008, raises the requirement for entitlement to a seniority pension from 35 to 40 years of contributions. The proposed reform provoked strong reactions from Cgil, Cisl and Uil that culminated in a large-scale demonstration held on 6 December in Rome. Following this demonstration, the Minister of Welfare and Social Policies met the general secretaries of Cgil, Cisl and Uil, initiating talks on the pensions issue which continued until 10 January 2004. The outcomes of these talks may lead to changes being made to the government’s proposed reform law.
Finally, the EU framework equal treatment Directive ( 2000/78/EC) (EU0010274F) was transposed and enacted by legislative decree no. 216 of 9 July 2003 (IT0308105T). The decree affirms the principle of equal treatment and prohibits any form of discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation with regard to employment, working conditions, access to guidance and vocational training, affiliation to workers’ organisations and activity on their behalf. The implementing decree provides that by December 2005 the Italy government will furnish the European Commission with information on application of the Directive. The transposition of the Directive has been too recent for it have led to collective bargaining including provisions on equality of treatment and bans on discrimination in recently-signed agreements.
On 22 May, Confindustria, the largest employers’ association, held its annual assembly (IT0306101N), attended by 3,250 delegates. The speech by the Confindustria president, Antonio D’Amato (in the fourth and final year of his term of office), addressed the issues most discussed by the social partners: reform of the pensions system, economic recovery, fiscal pressure, reform of the welfare system, the labour market, public administration, research, and the Mezzogiorno. According to D’Amato, adoption of the government’s pensions and social security reform (IT0305102N) should be accelerated and should introduce incentives for workers who decide to postpone their retirement, and disincentives for workers who decide to retire too early. He expressed his satisfaction with the government's efforts to 'realise a new labour market' and commented favourably on the 'Biagi law' (see above under 'Legislative developments') which 'increases job opportunities for everybody and creates job stability'.
As for the trade unions, on 10 March, Cgil presented to parliament a package of 'voter initiative' bills on reforming the labour market (IT0304307F). This initiative by Cgil, the largest of the Italian union confederations, collected more than 5 million signatures and sought to provide a legislative alternative to the reform of the labour market planned by the government. The legislation proposed by Cgil consisted of four bills on: (i) reforming the 'social shock absorbers' (the measures that seek to protect workers affected by job losses and restructuring - IT0311306T) and employment protection; (ii) extending protection against unfair dismissal; (iii) accelerating the arbitration of dismissal and transfer disputes; and (iv) extending the rights enjoyed by dependent employees (as regards social security contributions, sickness, maternity, workplace injury, holidays, and dismissal without just cause) to the entire range of 'atypical' workers and, in particular, 'freelance workers coordinated by an employer' (IT0011273F) - otherwise known as 'economically dependent workers'.
As regards internal union debate, on 15 September, more than 600 officials belonging to the 'reformist' wing of Cgil held an assembly (IT0310103N) and drew up a document on two key issues: the independence of union action from politics; and Cgil’s relations with the other two confederations, Cisl and Uil. According to the reformists, Cgil has considered itself so strong 'that it believes it can carry forward the social struggle by itself and spearhead the political mobilisation against the government', thus distorting its role as a trade union. The reformists therefore called on Cgil to resume a position independent of political parties and to promote unity of action with Cisl and Uil.
From 20 to 22 November, the Cisl trade union confederation held its 'organisational and programmatic assembly' in Rome (IT0312103F), which was attended by 1,250 delegates and the 250 members of the Cisl general council. One of the main items on the agenda was the need to promote more effective unionisation, especially among those workers who have historically been 'weaker' from a trade union point of view - those in SMEs, young people, women and immigrants. Strong criticisms were made of the government’s actions, and especially as regards the proposed reform of the pensions system, which was described as 'counter-reformist'. Cisl called for 'a resumption of concertation in order to achieve the greater social cohesion necessary for actions aimed at modernising social policies' and at implementing the 2002 'Pact for Italy' and June 2003 'Pact for competitiveness, employment and development' (see above under 'Collective bargaining'). With regard to trade union unity, the Cisl general secretary, Savino Pezzotta, stated that, 'although strategic differences persisted among the confederations, it is possible to find agreement through precise and clear proposals and by following paths respectful of differences'.
According to Istat, between January and October 2003, a total of 11 million working hours were lost because of industrial action, which was a 6.4% decrease on the same period in 2002. It is notable that 62.6% of the total was due to strikes not connected with the employment relationship. The most significant instances of industrial action were a widespread strike organised unilaterally by Cgil on 21 February (IT0303101N), and a one-day general strike on 24 October 2003, which was organised by all three main union confederations against the government’s budget law and its 'proxy law' to reform the pension system (IT0311102N). According to Cgil, Cisl and Uil, some 10 million people (70% of whom were workers) took part in the action.
The loss of 4.1 million working hours to industrial action connected with the employment relationship was mainly due to renewal of collective agreements and to economic and pay claims. According to Istat, this action was most prevalent in metalworking. In this sector, after strike action connected with renewal of the collective agreement, the Fiom-Cgil trade union initiated a period of conflict and company-level industrial action in order to conclude 'pre-agreements'- company agreements intended to anticipate the contents of a future new sectoral accord - and thereby compel the employers’ associations to reopen negotiations on renewal of the national agreement, the validity of which Fiom-Cgil rejects (IT0312102N).
December saw an upsurge of industrial action in the local transport sector. In protest against the prolonged delay in renewing their national pay agreement, which expired in late 2001, the main local public transport trade unions - Filt-Cgil, Fit-Cisl and Uiltrasporti - called a number of national-level strikes (making a total of eight since the end of 2001) and local-level demonstrations, while a 'wildcat' strike was held on 1 December in Milan (IT0312204F). Although the national collective agreement was signed on 20 December 2003 by the main unions, the government and the public transport companies, industrial conflict continued in some cities (Brescia, Genoa and Milan) at the end of the year.
In January , the government approved a reform (IT0302101F) of Title V of the Civil Code (Codice Civile) that redefines the characteristics of cooperatives and of the two main types of company - the limited liability company (Società a responsabilità limitata, Srl) and joint stock company (Società per azioni, SpA). The reform came into force on 1 January 2004, and it is intended to reduce the public supervision of corporate governance, but does not entrust workers’ representatives with a supervisory role - a path suggested by the EU Directive (2001/86/EC) on employee involvement in the new European Company incorporated at EU level (EU0206202F). Furthermore, the law does not seek to encourage workers’ participation in other ways. The law does provide for limited forms of employee financial participation, with workers entitled to shares but having no voting rights, or only limited ones. The issue most debated by the trade unions is that the law provides no opportunity for employee shareholders to express their collective will, which reduces their possibility of influencing corporate decisions.
The 2004 state budget law approved in September 2003 (IT0310102N) provides for the creation of a special fund to encourage employee participation in companies (Fondo speciale per l’incentivazione della partecipazione dei lavoratori nelle imprese). The fund will be established at the Ministry of Welfare and will receive an initial allocation of EUR 50 million. It will support programmes for the implementation of collective agreements or company rules aimed at enhancing worker participation in the company’s decision-making processes and/or financial results.
Among the collective agreements signed in 2003, a significant feature of the first sectoral agreement for the railway industry (see above under 'Collective bargaining') is that it establishes a 'participatory' industrial relations system for the sector (IT0305203F). This will be based on joint committees (a national observatory and equal opportunities committee) and information and consultation procedures at both national and company level. The parties, moreover, have committed themselves to activating the procedure for the establishment of a European Works Council, or an information and consultation procedure.
Debate on the issue of workplace stress in Italy has only just begun. As a consequence of this delay, no significant initiatives have been undertaken by the legislators or in collective bargaining.
Although the social partners have been urged by the European Commission to hold meetings on the problem of stress and its harmful effects on workers, the employers’ associations and trade unions have not yet undertaken specific initiatives to agree on rules and produce recommendations on how companies can improve working conditions in this area.
A series of recent surveys, the most important of them conducted by Istat, show that Italy’s hidden or irregular economy continues to grow (IT0312306F). According to the most recent figures, 3.5 million workers out of a total labour force of nearly 23.5 million are 'irregular'. This is a figure equivalent to 15%, and the level rises to 18% among employees. The growth of undeclared work is matched by that of the hidden economy, which oscillates between 15.2% and 16.9% of GDP, worth around EUR 200 billion a year. The weight of the hidden economy is not evenly distributed either geographically or sectorally. The sectors most affected by irregular work, both in absolute terms and percentages, are those in which it is possible for inefficient production units to survive, or in which work activities are of low complexity (domestic or personal care services), such as building, agriculture, catering, tourism, and retailing.
With regard to the geographical distribution of irregular employment, the figures show that the phenomenon is especially widespread in southern Italy, where one in every five workers is irregular. This accounts for the entire increase in the hidden economy, with a year-on-year rise of 0.5%. In the South, the hidden economy provides work for more than 1.5 million people, representing 23% of the working population, while in the Centre-North, where irregular workers number around 2 million, the proportion is halved, to 11.9%.
These findings have induced the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy to propose the establishment of an extraordinary commission endowed with broad powers, including coordination of the police forces, in order to combat irregular work.
On the trade union side, Cgil has submitted a proposal which envisages: the creation of a national fund to support local 'emergence' plans for irregular activity; the expansion of inspection services; more stringent rules for contract procurement, subcontracting and the agricultural sector; and an inclusive strategy for immigration.
'Atypical' work accounts for an increasingly large proportion of employment in Italy; and its incidence has surpassed 20% of total employment (IT0308304F). According to the most recent figures released by Istat, the total number of employed persons in Italy in October 2003 was 22,121,000, of whom 16,120,000 were in dependent employment. Of the latter, 2,682,000 were 'atypical' workers (Istat includes self-employed and semi-subordinate workers in its data), equivalent to 12% of total employment and 17% of dependent employment. Istat divides atypical dependent workers into full-time temporary workers on fixed-term or temporary agency contracts (a total of 1,192,000), part-time workers on open-ended contracts (1,015,000), and part-time temporary workers (474,000). These categories account respectively for 5%, 4.5% and 2% of total employment (and for 7%, 6% and 3% of dependent employment). Compared with the previous year (October 2002), the number of atypical workers increased by 3.7% (or by 96,000). The increase was mainly (but not solely) due to the growth of full-time temporary employment (which rose by 5.6%).
As regards temporary agency workers (IT0310308F), the Ministry of Labour has estimated that in 2002 (the figures for 2003 have not yet been published) temporary agency work represented 89,532 full-time jobs. Despite the sustained growth of recent years, however, the share of temporary agency work in total employment is still relatively small: the 89,000 agency jobs of 2002 accounted for 0.36% of total employment, an increase of 0.06 percentage points on the previous year.
However, fixed-term, part-time and temporary agency work are not the only forms of atypical work in Italy. Of particular importance is 'semi-subordinate' work (midway between dependent employment and self-employment), and most importantly, 'employer-coordinated freelance' (or 'economically dependent') work. At the beginning of 2003, therefore, there were almost 2.4 million persons working on employer-coordinated freelance contracts. These figures, calculated on National Institute of Social Insurance (Istituto Nazionale per la Previdenza Sociale, Inps) data concerning the coverage of a social security scheme specially created for freelance workers, in fact overestimate the real extent of this type of employment relationship. Indeed, 23% of those under the Inps scheme are actually in dependent employment. Moreover, a further 11% of those enrolled in the Inps scheme also receive a pension. Also included are highly specific categories such as the members of company boards, who account for 38% of those enrolled with the scheme and partly overlap with those in dependent employment or receiving pensions. However, on the basis of the data available, one may reasonably suppose that employer-coordinated freelance contracts amount to around 800,000 in total (which represents 3.6% of total employment).
2004 will probably be an important year for Italian industrial relations. The law reforming the labour market enacted in 2003 will be applied in companies (but not in the civil service, which is unaffected by the reform). This application will lead to the introduction of new contractual forms of the employment relationship and an increase in the number and role of the private actors involved in the management of employment services (in addition to the publicly-run ones). The social partners are supposed to be significantly involved in this phase.
Moreover, 2004 will see approval - if the government’s intention is fulfilled - of the law reforming the pension system, against which the unions have expressed their unanimous opposition. However, it seems that reform of the 'social shock absorbers' has been once again postponed (although on the agenda for years, no progress has yet been made on this issue).
The success or otherwise of these initiatives will depend on various factors, among them maintenance of trade union unity and the ability of the governing coalition to bring to conclusion what it began in 2003. From the political point of view, the European and local elections to be held in the late spring will be an important test.
As far as collective bargaining is concerned, 2004 will be a year in which a number of important national sectoral agreements are renewed. The upsurge in inflation has persuaded the government and the social partners to begin discussions on a renewed incomes policy which can effectively prevent the erosion of wages with respect to the cost of living. The gap between the actual inflation rate and the forecast rate (which is used to set the ceilings for pay rises) and, in parallel, the failure to renew various national collective agreements have made wage claims an increasingly crucial issue in collective bargaining - the most striking example being the protest by public transport workers in Milan in late 2003 (IT0312204F).
Another important event in 2004 will be the election of the new president of Confindustria to take the place of Antonio D’Amato. The results of the elections for his replacement may provide important indications of the attitude of Italy’s largest employers’ association towards, for example, economic policy priorities and the role of concertation.
The magnitude of the problems to be addressed may lead to a change in industrial relations, which in the past three years have been characterised by alternating periods of dialogue and open conflict between the social partners. The 'concertation method', which the current government has called into question - proposing instead greater autonomy for the executive in the field of social and employment policies - has in the past enabled the achievement of important objectives in terms of incomes policies, flexibilisation of the labour market, reform of the pension system and redefinition of the collective bargaining system. It could again prove useful in supporting policies for employment and economic growth. (Diego Coletto, Fondazione Regionale Pietro Seveso, and Livio Muratore, Ires Lombardia)