Did Italy Need More Labour Flexibility?

Since the 1970s social transformations and welfare state adequacy have been among the greatest challenges for European countries, while the emergence of new social risks, critically coupled with tight public budget constraints, has been further exacerbated by the recent economic crisis. Whereas some countries have been more successful in recalibrating their social protection systems in order to cope with new needs and demands stemming from cultural, demographic and economic changes, Mediterranean states are, more than others, still struggling to adapt their welfare systems to new financial conditions, and to effectively deal with the changing social environment. Against this background, a number of private actors increased their role in the welfare arena, leading to the emergence of a new “welfare mix” made up of formal and informal relations among the actors that contribute to welfare provision: the public sector, the market, the family, social parties and the Third Sector. Among them, the contribution of business through the provision of company-based welfare benefits and work-life balance solutions has become a primary issue within the political debate. The paper aims at clarifying the scope of occupational welfare through addressing the issue of the relation between occupational schemes and the public welfare state, and providing a preliminary typology of occupational benefits. Also, it retraces the development of occupational welfare benefits in Italy and offers, through the empirical analysis, an understanding of the logic of action of the actors involved in the set up of occupational welfare systems at the company level. Factors such as legacy and tradition, the state of industrial relations and trade union influence, geographical location, management’s attitude and initiative, cultural bias and public support will be analysed. Paragraphs one and two set the boundaries of the phenomenon through a review of the international literature on occupational welfare and on its possible effects on redistribution and on the public provision of welfare, while section three builds a first, tentative typology of occupational welfare benefits. Section four narrows down the analysis to the Italian case, highlighting its peculiarities with respect to the development of occupational welfare schemes. Section five displays evidence from the qualitative analysis on four Italian large enterprises providing occupational benefits to their employees, in the attempt of answering the question: what are the factors that ultimately cause occupational welfare systems creation or restructuring? Conclusive remarks identify processes that enable or constrain actors’ choices and preferences up to eventually determining final outcomes.

Social Policy & Administration, 2008

This article on the Italian case is based on recent trends in labour market reform. We critically review the reform approach adopted in recent years, mainly centred on marginal legislative reforms in employment contracts. The diffusion of flexible labour contracts, especially among the younger generations and women, together with a welfare system still based on employment seniority and job characteristics, have reinforced the segmentation of the Italian labour market and social inequalities. The absence of a negotiating strategy in introducing reforms has also increased social conflict. These trends ask for a comprehensive reform of the welfare system and for active policies to support labour market transitions, a reform which is increasingly considered in the current political debate.

The 6th International Scientific Conference "Business and Management 2010". Selected papers, 2010

Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.

Intereconomics, 2013

Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.

Notes in Italian Studies, 2021

Notes in Italian Studies Notes in Italian Studies is an online, open-access journal which publishes note-length studies by postgraduate and early-career researchers working in the field of Italian Studies, with a particular focus on research from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The guiding ethos of the journal is academic rigour, ensured by a process of internal double-blind peer review. It is edited by postgraduate and early-career members of the Society for Italian Studies (SIS) and aims to publish one volume each year, linked to the annual SIS Postgraduate Colloquium. The colloquium on which this, the inaugural volume, is based, 'Italy at Work: Representations of Labour in Italian Culture', took place online on 27 November 2020 and was organised by Erica Bellia (University of Cambridge) and Bianca Rita Cataldi (University College Dublin). Alongside exhibiting the groundbreaking and wide-ranging research of postgraduate and early-career members of the SIS, the journal also includes a Doctoral Bulletin Board, which serves as a record of doctorates awarded in Italian Studies in the UK and Ireland.