On 22 May 2008, during the annual assembly of the Confederation of Italian Industry (Confederazione Generale dell’Industria Italiana, Confindustria [1]), Emma Marcegaglia was officially elected head of the largest employer organisation in Italy (*IT0804029I* [2]). In her inaugural speech, she
Law 188/2007 of 17 October 2007 establishes new procedures which aim to combat the widespread phenomenon of so-called ‘white resignations’ in Italy. This practice occurs when an employer asks a worker to sign an undated letter of resignation at the moment of hiring. The employer can use this letter
According to official data, in 2007 some 832,037 workers were injured and more than 1,000 workers died in occupational accidents at work in Italy. These figures would be much higher if the number of occupational accidents in the informal economy – also referred to as the ‘hidden’ or ‘grey’ economy –
According to Decree No. 374 of 1993, demanding work refers to jobs which require an intense psycho-physical effort for long periods of time over a worklife cycle. The factors used to establish whether a job is demanding or not include a reduction in life expectancy, high frequency of occupational
The Confederation of Italian Industry (Confederazione Generale dell’Industria Italiana, Confindustria [1]) has elected its first-ever female president. On 13 March 2008, the Confindustria executive board, the managerial body of the association, nominated Emma Marcegaglia as the future president of
After a period of lengthy negotiations over several months, the government, professional and employer organisations together with a number of the trade unions signed an important tripartite agreement regarding welfare, the labour market and pensions on 23 July 2007 (IT0712029I [1]). [1] www
After a period of lengthy negotiations, the government, the Confederation of Italian Industry (Confederazione Generale dell’Industria Italiana, Confindustria [1]) and the trade unions signed an important agreement regarding welfare, the labour market and pensions on 23 July 2007 (*IT0710029I* [2])
The French-owned Auchan Group [1] has been operating in Italy since 1989. The Italian division was consolidated in 1996 through the purchase of 49% of the shares of the Rinascente Group. Rinascente, owned by the Agnelli family who founded the Fiat Group, is a well-established retail chain comprising
On 29 June 2007, the social partners in the chemicals sector signed a national industrial relations agreement, which represents an innovative development in industrial relations. The trade unions involved include: the Italian Chemicals, Energy and Manufacturing Workers’ Federation (Federazione
The Lombardy region in Italy has the highest number of chemical industries in the country, ranking as the second chemical region in Europe. As a result, the implementation of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH [1]) regulation is of particular concern to