Employee Voice and Cooperative Employment Relationships in Italian Firms: A Variegated Picture

The chapter analyzes the characteristics and development of workplace democracy in Italy, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized companies in view of their socio-economic significance. After reviewing the international literature, we draw upon the relevant Italian survey data to document the adoption of direct and indirect (union) employee voice mechanisms. We highlight the increasing adoption of direct employee voice mechanisms both in smaller and larger firms. We find that direct verbal channels of voice are prevalent in small firms. By contrast, in large firms multiple forms of voice are used, including direct and indirect. Then, we examine the combination of direct and indirect employee voice practices in the creation of cooperative employment relations in family-owned, medium-sized, advanced manufacturing firms that constitute the backbone of industrial districts in Northern and Central Italy. We also examine the absence of developed and meaningful forms of employee voice practices in other firms, sectors and regions of the national economy. We conclude by highlighting the growing appreciation among employers for the adoption of direct forms of workers’ participation. We also underline the importance of the role performed by unions for the effective operation of direct employee voice and in the creation of cooperative employment relations.