Continuity and discontinuity in collective representation

Chapter 6 focuses on the new forms of collective representation and organization by which self-employed professionals articulate and defend their interests. This is a specific topic in the broader debate on non-standard and precarious work. The deep analysis of innovative forms of collective interest representation, based on twenty-nine collective organizations investigated across Europe, provides a picture of the proliferation of new actors, bottom-up organizations, besides (or beyond) traditional unions, aimed at collectively representing this growing unorganized segment of the labour market. Three main organizational strategies have been identified: provision of services, as neo-mutual organizations; advocacy, lobbying and political roles; and coalition-building and new alliances in order to reinforce their legitimacy. A combination of strategies and the different capacity to create partnerships and coalitions characterize each national context or cluster of countries. These organizations have gradually become institutionalized, developing into relevant interlocutors in the public debate and in policymaking.