Labour movement: Old and new problems of representation

Inspired by long discussions on the issue of labour representation with Alessandro Pizzorno in the 1970s, the article outlines the evolution of the problem of representing work from the perspective of trade unions in Italy. In the first part, the birth of a new model of representation at work in the late 1960s, beyond myths and clichés is discussed. And the peculiar features of the reconfiguration of a system of representation and RI in Italy in the 1970s within the more general model of industrial trade unionism of the Glorious 30 of the Western countries are then outlined. In the second part, attention is paid to the effects of the crisis and the breakup of that model following the profound changes in the economy, production processes, and social dynamics in the post-Fordist globalized economy, with an acceleration in the last 15 years. In the new context, not only have the demands and interests of workers radically changed, but there has also been a change and increase in those who actually carry out or intend to perform representative functions, and multiply and differentiate the logic with which to do it. In this regard, the international debate on the so-called «union revitalization» appears limited and unsatisfactory. For the unions, it is rather required to change the paradigm and develop a new framework within which to represent all the different modes of work and the different positions and transitions in the labour market that characterize the world of work today. Efforts by unions, often in conjunction with others, to develop initiatives at the local level beyond workplaces and industries, which were the typical levels for the traditional representative model, suggest a potential reconfiguration and enlargement of the field of representation.