Federmeccanica: new industrial relations but silence on the German model

In recent weeks, Federmeccanica has ventured into a demanding reflection on the subject of industrial relations, which goes far beyond the contingent, prefiguring a new work culture. The association of the most important industrial category sets itself a more ambitious goal, but not without suggestions, that of building a "New Engineering Humanism" starting from the premise that companies not only generate economic value, but also human and cultural growth, solidarity and social mobility. The new approach is based on the common interests of all those who are part of the company while the roots are found in people, work ethic and individual responsibility.

It is necessary to encourage a cultural revolution already underway, "going from antagonism to sharing, from prejudice to trust, from continuous negotiation to preventive understanding, from rigidity to adaptivity, from execution to self-organisation", bringing into the company, among all collaborators without exclusion, participation, collaboration and inclusion.” The document starts from the affirmation of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution" which by its nature makes the full involvement of all workers not only possible but necessary in terms of professionalism and responsibility to guarantee, in the final analysis, productivity, competitiveness and company life. Only in this way can present and future jobs be guaranteed, especially for young people and women.

What yesterday could be seen as a cost (training, safety, welfare) must be considered an investment today. With the caveat that wealth is distributed after it is produced. But on this aspect Federmeccanica also makes a substantial self-criticism for which it deserves credit, when it underlines that "for a long time in our country wages have been an independent variable with respect to the production of value, these two dimensions instead of converging you constantly go in opposite directions: this has been one of the causes of the sector's loss of competitiveness”.

The way forward is that of remuneration linked to performance, variable in form and substance, "virtuous formulas based on participation and on the principle of sharing both risk and results", involving workers in growing forms of collaboration and participation in the definition of each phase of the production process. In this regard, it is necessary to “build individual relationships with a plurality of people rather than hierarchically relating to an indistinct multitude”.

For Federmeccanica, which considers the contract signed with the trade unions a coherent tool with the strategic objectives outlined in the document, it is an unavoidable necessity to change ways of thinking in order to change the factory and society, overcoming ideological barriers and particularisms. If the position of mechanical entrepreneurs undoubtedly contains elements of novelty (the authors themselves acknowledge that the document is visionary but strongly anchored in reality), it does not take a position on some aspects.

The choice to privilege, expand and spread second-level bargaining is very clear and well argued, even if nothing is said about the German model which allows individual companies and interested workers to leave the National Collective Agreement by signing a specific company agreement. Nor is the question of constitutional articles 39, 40 and 46 the subject of reflection. In particular, article 46 could have provided the occasion for a reference to the implementation of the programmatic constitutional norm on "participation".

This theme is in truth one of the founding elements of the entire document, even if there are no concrete proposals, and an evaluation of the operating models present in numerous experiences at an international level. The same agreement reached for Alcoa should not be underestimated if we want to seriously discuss participation. Federmeccanica's "Manifesto" launches a constructive message in any case and it is to be hoped that it will be picked up and carried forward with coherence and determination.