The trajectory of the Jobs Act and the politics of structural reforms between counter-reforms and ambiguity

Abstract

ABSTRACTWhen the new yellow-green government took office in 2018, a radical overhaul of the main labour-market reform (the so-called Jobs Act) introduced by the Renzi government was expected. Despite a number of opportunities to scupper the reform, this never happened. While the Jobs Act is still contentious to this day, and notwithstanding the manifesto commitments made by the League and the Five-star Movement forming the government, only three changes have been introduced since the yellow-green government was sworn in: the ‘Decreto dignità’ (Dignity Decree); the ruling of the Constitutional Court regarding the contract with increasing protections, and some interventions concerning the short-time work scheme. While the article analyses the latest events surrounding the Jobs Act, it draws a general lesson: politically charged structural reforms, both comprehensive and consistent with its given objectives, become less likely to be amended and retracted while, at the same time, their survival is threatened by the contradictions of their own narrative.