Innovating the management of corporate crises with new forms of participation of trade union representatives and workers

Abstract

In Italy corporate restructuring crises are traditionally managed by companies through communication to the workers' representatives about the negative impacts on production structures and on workplaces. Therefore, the trade union representatives adopt defensive methods focused on minimizing the impacts on employment. The role of representatives is subordinate to that of managers who have the goal of making decisions and minimizing the interference of trade unions. Workers also play a secondary role in supporting the union in the negotiation process. In the two corporate cases studied, instead, the possibility emerges for trade union representatives to play a proactive role and to collaborate with management in an agreed solution to the crisis that is more favourable to workers. To arrive at these positive solutions, the fundamental role is played by organizational and technological innovation that significantly improves company performance, as supported by the direct participation of workers. In these cases, coordination between the factors at stake is ensured by the ability of the actors to manage a risky and complex innovative process in a shared way.