Trade union involvement in retraining to develop new patterns of work organization

Abstract

In 1976, at the lowest point of the economic crisis, courses of professional retraining were the subject of much discussion in Italy. The main characteristic of these courses is indicated by the headlines which have appeared in the newspapers, such as the one saying: ‘To school instead of no work’. This is significant: companies have temporarily decreased their employment levels, but instead of discharging the workers, or keeping them at home, which is paid for by the ‘redundancy fund’ (the body which in Italy provides partial remuneration for those temporarily compelled to be inactive without being made redundant), organizations prefer to send employees to professional retraining courses (these are later referred to as ‘zero hours’). Employees are retrained in skills that are seen as necessary when the company changes its methods or types of production. But in spite of the discussions generated by the subject of retraining, the number of such courses is few and the future of those that do exist is precarious, due to the economic difficulties of many Italian companies.