Public Services Under Austerity: Structure of the Public Sector and Drivers of Outsourcing

Abstract

The chapter aims to present the administrative and regulatory framework of the Italian public sector, in terms of employment relations institutions and actors, the collective bargaining structures and the main drivers underpinning outsourcing in public services. The objective is to provide an informative institutional background to frame and understand the processes of outsourcing in public services in the country and the consequences for working conditions, trade unions, employment relations and the role of the state. Hence, after an introductory administrative overview of the country, the chapter presents the main transformations and reforms of public sector employment relations and the country-specific institutions and structure of collective bargaining. The following section describes the most relevant social partners in the public services, their organisational structure and composition. A final section examines the main drivers of outsourcing in Italy, including both the austerity measures that, in the aftermath of the economic crisis, imposed retrenchment in the public administrations as well as legislative interventions promoting market competition in public services.