Abstract

Labour law and social security are engaged in crucial challenges: the eclipse of the "fordist" model, labour flexibility, the development of "atypical" works and self-employment, mass unemployment, are all factors wich cooperate to deeply redesign their functions. The essay makes some hypotheses regarding theese transformations, with special regard to those concerning collective bargaining. The central idea is that collective bargaining can play a positive and even growing role in this scenario, if it will be able to develop partecipative strategies without becoming a public authority, but remaining attached to its privatistic roots, and so basing ist action on freedom and on workers' consent.