Borse, dividendi mondiali oltre i «rumori di fondo»: primo trimestre da record
di Maximilian Cellino
Trade union representation at a standstill and accredited healthcare awaits clear rules
The May Day decree consciously avoids addressing the issue of trade union representativeness, once again leaving employers in the lurch
by Giovanni Costantino*
Train gone, opportunity lost. A step forward towards a more transparent and reliable system of industrial relations was expected and, instead, the May Day decree (Decree-Law 62/2026), barring resounding changes during conversion, consciously avoids addressing the issue of trade union representativeness, once again leaving employers in the lurch.
The new legal text, in fact, does not clarify what is meant by 'comparatively most representative organisations', a notion that becomes even more important today, given that, with the laudable intention of eliminating contractual dumping phenomena, the decree entrusts precisely these organisations with the task of defining the 'fair wage' for the entire sector.
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On the other hand, even before Law Decree 62/2026 came into force, it was clear that there was an urgent need to address this issue, at least since Constitutional Court ruling No. 156/2025 declared illegitimate Article 19 of the Workers' Statute in the part in which it does not allow the establishment of RSAs also to trade unions that are 'comparatively more representative at the national level', even though they are not signatories to the collective agreement applied nor participants in negotiations.
The Court started from essentially shared thoughts, but identified a solution that is bound to cause confusion among employers, to whom it entrusts the (impossible) task of assessing the degree of representativeness of each trade union. Indeed, employers do not have the necessary tools for such a check. What is needed is reliable data, uniform criteria, and a complete and up-to-date information framework. None of this is available today, and it is not to be expected that the Court of Cassation, which is due to rule on the matter in a few days, will be able to resolve this uncertainty.
The problem is particularly acute in private health care, where not only the traditional trade union confederations operate, but also other unions that have consolidated their role over the decades, going so far as to sign important collective bargaining agreements. It is also common for other organisations, boasting a good degree of (certified) representativeness in the public sector, to try to pass this on to the private sector.
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