Common Sense and 'National Emergency': Italian Labour and the Crisis

This paper has a twofold objective. First, it analyses recent developments in Italian industrial relations as an attempt by capital to destructure the collective bargaining system. Then, it seeks to explain the reasons for the relative acquiescence of organised labour to capital’s offensive. By ado...

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Main Author: Davide Bradanini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: McMaster University Library Press 2014-05-01
Series:Global Labour Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/1157
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spelling doaj-737a7bb19ea5488ca4f9670e787514212021-04-02T19:04:11ZengMcMaster University Library PressGlobal Labour Journal1918-67112014-05-015210.15173/glj.v5i2.1157Common Sense and 'National Emergency': Italian Labour and the CrisisDavide Bradanini0Independent Scholar-Rome This paper has a twofold objective. First, it analyses recent developments in Italian industrial relations as an attempt by capital to destructure the collective bargaining system. Then, it seeks to explain the reasons for the relative acquiescence of organised labour to capital’s offensive. By adopting Bruff's concept of 'common sense', it is argued that labour and the left have internalised an assumption of economic vulnerability and the idea that in order to adjust Italy to economic change, real wages need to be kept sufficiently low. This particular intertwining between 'the national' and 'the international' is argued to be at the basis of labour's acceptance of punitive measures in times of 'economic emergency'. https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/1157Collective bargainingcommon senseindustrial relationsItaly.
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Davide Bradanini
spellingShingle Davide Bradanini
Common Sense and 'National Emergency': Italian Labour and the Crisis
Global Labour Journal
Collective bargaining
common sense
industrial relations
Italy.
author_facet Davide Bradanini
author_sort Davide Bradanini
title Common Sense and 'National Emergency': Italian Labour and the Crisis
title_short Common Sense and 'National Emergency': Italian Labour and the Crisis
title_full Common Sense and 'National Emergency': Italian Labour and the Crisis
title_fullStr Common Sense and 'National Emergency': Italian Labour and the Crisis
title_full_unstemmed Common Sense and 'National Emergency': Italian Labour and the Crisis
title_sort common sense and 'national emergency': italian labour and the crisis
publisher McMaster University Library Press
series Global Labour Journal
issn 1918-6711
publishDate 2014-05-01
description This paper has a twofold objective. First, it analyses recent developments in Italian industrial relations as an attempt by capital to destructure the collective bargaining system. Then, it seeks to explain the reasons for the relative acquiescence of organised labour to capital’s offensive. By adopting Bruff's concept of 'common sense', it is argued that labour and the left have internalised an assumption of economic vulnerability and the idea that in order to adjust Italy to economic change, real wages need to be kept sufficiently low. This particular intertwining between 'the national' and 'the international' is argued to be at the basis of labour's acceptance of punitive measures in times of 'economic emergency'.
topic Collective bargaining
common sense
industrial relations
Italy.
url https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/1157
work_keys_str_mv AT davidebradanini commonsenseandnationalemergencyitalianlabourandthecrisis
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