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In the case of Italy, many of the more common assumptions about the impact of the crisis on employment relations do not fit. We briefly outline the main traditional features of joint regulation and labour market policy in Italy and then illustrate how the crisis erupted in a situation already marked by major defects. We go on to discuss the social partners' positions and practices showing how the crisis influenced social dialogue and collective bargaining in a complex way. They largely maintained their previous organizational strength and continued to play a central role in the regulation of labour; yet, a significant, unexpected change was the more autonomous role assumed by the state. In the medium term, this may eventually result in a deep transformation of the whole labour relations system.

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This article discusses the current characteristics of trade unionism in Italy. First, however, attention is paid to the initial imprinting of the model, which stemmed from the circumstances in which the trade unions were reconstituted at the end of WWII, and whose far-reaching consequences are still apparent today. In fact, because of original divisions along ideological lines, and within a context of enduring voluntarism and low institutionalisation, the Italian trade unions, which acquired large followings and strong organizational capacity and influence over time, still tend to oscillate between behaving as either organizations or social movements according to convenience and to pressures applied by the rank and file.

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