The course aims to provide the necessary knowledge to understand the characteristics and functioning of industrial relations systems with particular reference to the Italian experience, which is concerned in the light of the European and international context. 
Starting from the historical-evolutionary dynamics made over time by the intermediate bodies within the capital-labour conflict, students will be guided, first of all, towards the understanding of the typical traits assumed by these bodies in the Western European dimension. In this framework, they will be called to retrace, on a legal level, the typical traits of Italian trade union law, considered in its foundations and peculiarities. They will therefore be accompanied in the study of the national system of industrial relations, taking into account its actors, instruments and rules. Finally, special attention will be paid to the recent developments of this system, also with some reference to the comparative perspective, also developed through optional material in foreign languages, so as to be able to understand the dynamics of change in industrial relations in the face of some more recent challenges, such as digitisation, the transformation of work and enterprise, and, lastly, the pandemic emergency at a global level.
These challenges now involve the actors of the system in increasingly complex processes of management of organisational, professional and productive change, so that, at the end of the course and after passing the exam, students must be able to master the subject in order to be able to deal effectively with the trade union issues underlying such processes (staff redundancies, relocations and relocations, management of collective conflicts), as well as the more general problems related to collective relations in the workplace (negotiation and application of collective agreements, etc.). d. trade union eligibility, company welfare, flexibility, working hours, leave, working environment).
 

The course will address the following topics:

- What industrial relations are.

- Origin and development of industrial relations: the actors and the context.

- Follows: the rules. Trade union law.

- Freedom of association and trade union organisation for workers and employers.

- Trade union activity in the workplace.

- Bargaining and collective bargaining.

- Collective conflict.

- Labour relations in the public sector.

- Beyond the national dimension: Europe.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

- Knowledge and understanding: at the end of the course, students acquire the tools to understand both the role of collective autonomy in working relationships and industrial relations as a system. They also acquire a specific knowledge of the salient features of the system itself from a structural, subjective and functional point of view, as well as the rules that govern it. They understand the most recent trends in the development of industrial relations in the Italian experience in the light of the more general technological transformations of society, production and work.

- Applying knowledge and understanding: At the end of the course, students must have acquired the ability to use the knowledge acquired so as to be able to master the tools of collective autonomy (drafting of trade union agreements, application of national collective agreements, management of trade union activity in the workplace) and, therefore, deal with concrete cases relating to personnel management from a trade union relations perspective, also in the context of the most recent problems, including those related to the pandemic emergency (management of redundancies, smart-working, leave and working hours, safety at work). The teaching methods with which these results will be achieved will privilege an applicative and case-by-case approach and will consist of: exercises relating to case law and/or company cases; reading and analysis of collective agreements; individual or group work on topics covered by specific seminar meetings.

- Making judgements: at the end of the course, students and students must be able to interpret the topics dealt with critically, integrating knowledge with their own personal point of view. This implies the acquisition of a capacity for autonomous re-elaboration and evaluation of the various aspects of the subject. The teaching methods with which these results will be achieved will privilege an active approach of the learners to the lessons and will consist of: classroom discussions; sharing of the results of individual study through planned interventions of the learners; in-depth work at individual and group level; possible production of written papers.

- Communication skills: at the end of the course, students must acquire the ability to express themselves with clear and correct vocabulary and demonstrate a good command of the technical-legal language related to the subject in dialogue with the teacher and their colleagues. The didactic methods by which these results will be achieved will consist of: classroom interventions; group discussions; exposition and summary summary of some topics already dealt with in previous lessons or to be dealt with in the next lesson or written works.

- Learning skills: at the end of the course, students and students must have developed the learning skills necessary for the constant and rapid updating of their knowledge, as well as the acquisition, independently, of professional skills and abilities connected with entering the world of work. The teaching methods by which these results will be achieved will consist of: face-to-face lectures; in-depth seminars, production of written works and, above all, group work and discussions, as well as dialogues with the teacher, through which it will be possible to encourage learners to adopt an approach open to doubt and, therefore, to the capacity for lifelong learning in extremely dynamic and changing contexts such as today's work organisations, in which the industrial relations system is located.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

There are no teaching support activities held by people other than the teacher.

Teaching

The course is based on frontal teaching methods, but without neglecting the role of active teaching.

Frontal teaching is aimed at providing basic theoretical knowledge and consists of lectures given by the teacher through the support of slides and web navigation. Access to the web makes it possible, first of all, to present the institutional websites of the various protagonists of industrial relations; then, it makes it possible to find precious material to submit to the classroom, including newspaper articles on current labour law issues, case law cases and, above all, national and company collective agreements.

Active teaching is aimed at developing skills for understanding and managing specific "critical situations" through the application of basic theoretical knowledge to practical cases. The latter will first be carried out in groups, then discussed in "plenary" under the supervision and guidance of the teacher and a possible guest of the lesson involved in the activity (professional, trade unionist, scholar of the subject). In the context of active teaching, space will be given to the study of collective agreements, the discussion of jurisprudential cases, collective reflection on strictly topical issues, also drawn from the media, including those related to the pandemic emergency and the role of trade union relations in this regard.

Attendance

In order to be able to attend and/or study profitably, students must review the basic notions of labour law, especially the part relating to trade unions.

Attending students must bring the course book to class.

Course books

L. BORDOGNA, R. PEDERSINI, Relazioni industriali. L'esperienza italiana nel contesto internazionale, il Mulino, Bologna, 2019.

For OPTIONAL materials in English, please refer to the Blended Platform. In particular, under the English Documents section, SOME DOCUMENTS will be uploaded on one or more topical issues concerning trade union law and industrial relations AND IF YOU CAN CHOOSE ONE OR MORE depending on your interests or inclinations.

For students and attending students, any further indications and readings will be provided by the teacher during the classes.

Assessment

The expected learning outcomes are assessed through an oral discussion on the topics covered in the classes and in the above mentioned course book. The choice of an oral discussion is justified by its suitability to allow a more articulated assessment of each student's profile, in terms of knowledge and, above all, application skills, as well as argumentative, critical and communicative skills.

The discussion is articulated in a series of open questions (from 1 to 4), with a general slant, on fundamental topics, so that the student can be placed in the best conditions to demonstrate the level of preparation achieved.

This level will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria: 1. completeness of preparation in terms of content; 2. mastery of the subject and its fundamental concepts; 3. ability to reason and coordination of the various aspects characterising trade union law and industrial relations; 4. ability to apply knowledge with a critical spirit and autonomy of judgement; 5. communication skills from the point of view of the style of presentation and the technical-legal vocabulary adopted.

The criteria will be used in competition with each other in order to arrive at a judgement and a vote expressed in thirtieth, articulated according to the following scale of correspondence:

less than 18/30 - insufficient level: the student does not achieve any of the learning outcomes envisaged under "Knowledge and understanding skills";
18-20/30 - sufficient level: the student reaches, in particular, the learning outcomes foreseen under "Knowledge and comprehension skills";
21-23/30 - fully sufficient level: the student achieves, in particular, the expected learning outcomes under "Knowledge and understanding" and "Applied knowledge and understanding";
24-26/30 - good level: the student achieves, in particular, the learning outcomes foreseen in the points "Knowledge and understanding skills", "Knowledge and applied understanding skills" and "Autonomy of judgement";
27-29/30 - very good level: the student achieves, in particular, the learning outcomes expected under the points "Knowledge of comprehension skills", "Knowledge to applied comprehension skills", "Autonomy of judgement" and "Communication skills";
30/30 cum laude: excellent level: the student fully achieves the learning outcomes specified in the points "Knowledge of comprehension skills", "Knowledge to applied comprehension skills", "Autonomy of judgement", "Communicative skills" and "Ability to learn".
Without prejudice to the right of every student, whether attending or not, to take the final examination with reference to the entire programme, only those students who are assiduously attending the programme may divide the examination into two parts, and may be exempted from studying part of the programme (Chapter VII) to compensate for the activity carried out (at home and in the classroom) in correspondence with the frequency of lessons.

For those who successfully pass the examination relating to the first part of the programme, the final examination will consist of oral discussion only on the subjects relating to the second part. The final grade, again expressed in thirtieths, will be given at the end by the average score obtained in both examinations.
For those who, on the other hand, do not pass this test, the final exam will consist of an oral discussion of the entire programme according to the criteria and methods set out above.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

The teacher makes herself available, upon appointment and receipt, to meet students, especially working students, also via skype call, in order to provide continuous support and guidance to them.

Course books

Individual study of the above mentioned course book as well as the documents uploaded to the Moodle platform.

Assessment

The evaluation of students and non-attending students is carried out by means of an oral discussion on the subjects dealt with in the above mentioned course book.

The evaluation criteria and the judgement of the results of the discussion are the same as those already mentioned for students.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

The Olympus Observatory for the permanent monitoring of legislation and case law on safety in the workplace is active in the Department. It carries out various activities including, in particular: the management of a website with legislative, jurisprudential and contractual databases on safety at work, the publication of in-depth analysis and articles, specialist reviews and thematic "focus"; the management of an online scientific journal "Law of Safety at Work" (DSL), with an ISSN code, which makes use of a large international scientific committee and referral procedures for the identification of essays to be published; the organisation of conferences and seminars, also of an international nature. This Observatory, whose website (http://olympus.uniurb.it/.) is freely accessible to all in a public service logic, allows the students of the Board of Directors to find materials and documentation useful to their study path and to write their thesis. It also offers, through the above-mentioned meetings and seminars, the opportunity to meet the most important experts in the field and to analyse in depth the most delicate issues related to it.