Post on 17-Feb-2019
Who represents whom?Who represents what?
Trade union fragmentation and industrial relations in Italy
Prof. Bruno Catte roFacoltà di Scie nze Politiche
Dipartime nto d i Rice rca So ciale
I n t e rn at ion al w o rk s h op“Eu ro p e an Un io n is m in Tra n s it io n ?”at t h e W ZB, Be rlinS e p t e m b e r 9 t h – 1 0 t h , 2 0 0 8
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
Beyond , and : The numbers anda typology of other trade unions
Where does the fragmentation come from? The causes
The effects on industrial relations:- the of the conflict- the conservatism of the trade union confederations
The question of representativeness: attempts to “rationalise” in the public sector
Looking ahead: The open questions
Contents
CGIL CIS L UIL
“terziarizzaz ione”
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
pensioners make up more than 50% of membership
strong presence in the public sector
significant membership losses in the private sector
sudden emergence of “other” unions andfragmentation of the representation of interests
Stable unions in the context of stable industrial relations?
Rate of unionisation ( , and ): 32 - 38%CGIL CISL UIL
b u t :
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Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
the traditional “autonomous” unions
the new “autonomous” unions
the radical left wing ( )
(Carrieri/Tatarelli 1997)
Trade union fragmentation
(s indacati autonomi class ici o “di prima generazione ”)
(s indacati profess ionali o di mes tie re )
“comitati di base ” Cobas
The “o the r” trade unions : a typo log y
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
a-political, moderate und consensus-oriented
mainly present in the public sector (exception: at Fiat)
Representation of particulate, corporative interests ofindividual professional groups (teachers, executive staff in thebanking sector); apart from this, rather a marginalphenomenon
from the 70ies on competition with the expanding andhegemonic trade union confederations with a view to securing niches of representation
Trade union fragmentation
The o ld “autono mous ” unions (1 )
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FIS MIC
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
: marginal phenomenon with neo-fascist corporativeideology (founded in 1950)
: confederation of autonomous unions (founded in 1957)
Two additional confederations:
: founded in 1996,allegedly 2,4 mio. members (?)
: founded in 1990/1996,no data available about membership
Trade union fragmentation
The o ld “autono mous ” unions (2 )
Today:
CISNAL
CISAL
Unione Generale de l Lavoro (UGL)
Sindacato Padano (S in.Pa)
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
a-political
representation of particulate, corporative interests ofindividual professional groups (e.g.: air traffic controllers,engine drivers)
strong presence in the public sector, in particular thetransport sector
offensive strategies with deliberate use of extrememeasures during conflicts
Trade union fragmentation
The ne w “autono mous ” unions(professional associations)
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Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
origins in the confederate unionism (in particular , but also )
combine militant left wing radicalism with professionalidentities (in particular engine drivers and workers in localtransport; teachers; )
loose organisation (assemblies and coordination);conflict as the peak moment of organisation
schisms (e.g. in the education sector)
Trade union fragmentation
The radical le ft w ing Co m it at i d i Bas e(Cob as )
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CGIL CIS L
Alfa Romeo
GILDA
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
Trade union fragmentation
To s ummaris e :
new “auto no mous ” unio ns Cobas
old “auto no mous ” unio ns
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
Trade union fragmentation
With the exception of and : common features are much more significant than the respective differences
To s ummaris e:
new “autono mo us ” unio ns Cobas
old “autono mo us ” unio ns
UGL Sin.Pa
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
Representation of specific and homogenousinterests of small groups of employees
“corporative” solidarity in order to protect or ensure status-oriented differences
no need to try and reconcile heterogeneous interests
small size leads to reduced “accountability”,i.e. the “autonomous” unions are not sensitiveto the systematic effects of their behaviour
Trade union fragmentation
The com mon de nominator: s p e cial in t e re s t g rou p s
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(Ichino 2006)
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
1 Stand: .31.12.2007
Source: und
“concentrated fragmentation” AZ FLY AZ SERVIZI
2.178 4.818 4.176
AZ
PILOTS FLIGHT ASSISTANTS OTHERS(check in etc.)
GROUND SERVICES(maintenance, call center,
adminis tration, etc .)11.172Employees :1 ca. 7.400 18.500
UNIONSFILT-CGIL 50 150 400 1.600 2.200FIT-CISL 100 400 350 1.200 2.050
UIL TRASPORTI 300 300 300 1.000 1.900SDL – 900 250 600 1.750UGL 100 300 80 550 1.030ANPAC 900 – – – 900
AVIA – 700 – – 700ANPAV – 450 – – 450
UP 300 – – – 300Union Members
Rate of unionis ation1.750 3.200 1.380 4.950 11.280
(2,3) (3,1) (9,6) (21,6) (11,9)
(4,6) (8,3) (8,4) (16,2) (11,1)
(13,8) (6,2) (7,2) (13,5) (10.2)
(18,7) (6,0) (8,1) (9,5)
(4,6) (6,2) (1,9) (7,4) (5,6)
(41,3) (4,9)
(14,5) (3,8)
(9,3) (2,4)
(13,8) (1,6)
(80,4) (66,4) (33.0) (66,9) (61,0)
La S tampa (25.1.2008) Il Sole 24 Ore (2.9.2008)
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
crisis of trade union confederations
low level of institutionalisation of industrial relations(incl. the right to strike)
politically motivated support
Trade union fragmentation: the causes
Combination o f g e ne ral and country s pe cific caus e s and trig g e rs :
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
General factors:
differentiation of interests in a heterogeneous working environment
dissolution of collective normative identities
unfavorable conditions for collective bargaining and strict incomepolicy (1990ies: Italy’s accession to the Euro-Zone)
Country-specific factors:
failure of the unification process of confederate unionism (1984)
striking parallels (even though not simultaneous) in thefragmentation of economic and political representation
Trade union fragmentation: the causes
Cris is o f trade union confe de rations
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Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
no regulation of collective bargaining
interest representation at the company level is first paralysed(1980s), later (from 1993) self-regulated by trade unions, butonly among , und
right to strike as an individual right
partial regulation of strikes only since the 1990s
Trade union fragmentation: the causes
Low le ve l o f ins titutionalis ationof indus trial re lations
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CGIL CIS L UIL
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
Multiplication of “autonomous” trade unions aswelcome weakening of confederate unionism
(Ichino 2006)
Trade union fragmentation: the causes
Politically motivate d s upport
the “political R ecognition” of S ULTA (late r S ULT) at Alitalia (1994 / 2005)
intentional “las sez faire ” during s trikes in the transport s ector (e .g.: Milano 2003)
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
of the conflict, which becomes pathologic
effects on the logic of action of , and
Trade union fragmentation: the effects
What impact on the s ys te m o f indus trial re lations ?
“terziarizzazione ”
CGIL CIS L UIL
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
as it is common in the sector
as it includes and affects third ( ) actors
profits due to strategic position (monopolistic services)
strike does not cause losses,but reduces costs (protracted negotiations)
announcement of a strike is sufficient(
Trade union fragmentation: the effects
“te rziarizzazione ” o f the conflict
te rtiary
“te rzi”
the play with the rule s of the game)
The vic ious c irc le in the public trans port s ec tor:
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Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
conservative collective bargaining strategies in thepublic sector und transport sector
self-regulation of the conflict but tolerance of or evenunderstanding extreme forms of collective action
strict opposition towards any form of legal regulationof the right to strike (such as commitments to “peace”between negotiation rounds)
Trade union fragmentation: the effects
Effe cts o f the log ic o f actionof , and CGI L CI S L UI L
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Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
Approximately 715-750 unions, with the following structure:
ca. 52% do not surpass the threshold of 0,1% of theentire trade union membership in the respective sector
ca. 30% have no more then 10 members
11,5% only have one member ( )
Overall: ca. 1,3 mio trade union members = ca. 50% rate of unionisation (among these 80% , and )
Source: ARAN
Trade union fragmentation: the public sector
Trade union frag m e ntation in the Italian public s e ctor
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Ñ “one man union”…
CGIL CIS L UIL
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
Criteria for measuring representativeness: combined average rate of membership and election results
Certification through joint committee(ARAN + representative unions)
Threshold of representativeness more than 5% (average rate in all subsectors); precondition for union members to get special leave ( and )
Trade union fragmentation: the public sector
Re pre s e ntative ne s s and co lle ctive barg ainingin the public s e ctors (1 9 9 7 )
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dis tacchi permess i s indacali
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
The collective bargaining parties have to jointly surpass thethreshold of 50% (combined average rate of membership andelection results) or 60% (membership only ) in the respectivesector (e.g: school sector)
Passing the 5% representativeness threshold is necessary in at least two sectors in order to participate in cross-sectorcollective bargaining (where the rules are negotiated, such as special leave etc.)
Trade union fragmentation: the public sector
Re pre s e ntative ne s s and co lle ctive barg ainingin the public s e ctors (1 9 9 7 )
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Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
regular election (every three years) of the union representatives(RSU), which is different from the private sector
consistency in the election results, with ca. 80% of votes going to , and
contradictory decrease of fragmentation: smaller sectors allowminor unions to pass the double 5% threshold. Therefore:
individual sectors: as a rule, 5-6 collective bargaining partiescross-sector level: 9-10 collective bargaining parties
Trade union fragmentation: the public sector
Re pre s e ntative ne s s and co lle ctive barg ainingin the public s e ctors (1 9 9 7 - 2 0 0 8 )
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CGIL CIS L UIL
óó
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
for trade unions to unite in confederation structures federal associa-
tion of smaller, autonomous trade unions ( , , ), in order to achieve the threshold of representativeness in at least two sectors and to ensure participa-tion in cross-sector collective bargaining
Trade union fragmentation: the public sector
Re pre s e ntative ne s s and co lle ctive barg ainingin the public s e ctors (1 9 9 7 - 2 0 0 8 )
Legal ince ntives
Opportunis tic be havior: versus
CONFS AL CGU RdB
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
from “competitive” to “structured pluralism”(Carrieri 1997/2008)?
can the model of the public sector (measurement ofrepresentativeness and selective recognition ofcollective bargaining actors) be transferred to thetransport sector and the private sector?
or do we need a law (Ichino 2006)?
Trade union fragmentation: looking ahead
The ope n que s tions (1 )
Prof. Bruno CatteroUniversità del Piemonte OrientaleDipartimento di Ricerca sociale
Are “structured pluralism” and the claims of , and “general trade unions” compatible?
Two critical comments:
certification of the data regarding membership and RSU
the claim presupposes innovative policies in the publicsector and a different collective bargaining behaviorthan the one often observed in the past 15 years(example Alitalia)
Trade union fragmentation: looking ahead
The ope n que s tions (2 )
CGIL CIS LUIL to be