Betweeen institutionalized concertation and experimentation: the regulation of new forms of work and employment in Lombardy

Northern Italy, and Lombardy in particular, can be considered a distinctive version of the so-called ‘European social model’ in which the presence of close constraints on the labour market and strong collective actors in the regulation of work have enhanced economic competitiveness, ensuring cooperation and labour force flexibility. Distinctive of this version of the model is a relatively low level of institutionalization and a markedly voluntaristic nature of relations among actors (Regini 2002). The development and growing social importance of the new forms of employment and work cause difficulties for the European social model from two points of view: they weaken institutionalized forms of consensus and workforce cooperation with company management; and they hamper access to a series of rights, the enjoyment of which has long been associated with dependent employment. This latter aspect is of particular importance in Italy, in that it is a country characterized by an occupational welfare state. Trade-union relations, in particular institutionalized cooperation between labour organizations and employers, have played a decisive role in defining and maintaining this socio-economic model. But are they still able to perform this function in the face of current changes? Can cooperation between the social partners at local level, which by its nature is more flexible and adaptable, acquire a more important role in this context? Can the distinctive features of the Italian, and Lombard, version of the model have an impact on it? This chapter does not claim to answer such far-reaching questions, but neverthless seeks to furnish empirical evidence which may be of use in providing such answers.