Il presente contributo è destinato, in una versione ridotta, ad un Quaderno della Rivista Diritti Lavori Mercati, dedicato al cinquantenario dello Statuto dei lavoratori, di prossima pubblicazione, a cura di Mario Rusciano, Lorenzo Zoppoli e Lorenzo Gaeta.

The essay traces the evolution that led to the approval of the Workers' Statute, exactly fifty years ago.
The gestation period of the law begins with the first proposals formulated in the fifties and finishes at the end of a period of great workers' struggles, the so-called Autunno Caldo, making a synthesis between the different approaches that emerged both in the political and trade unions debate and in the scientific reflection.
Within the path that led to the Law no. 300/1970 fits the human and intellectual history of Gino Giugni, a jurist who has had a profound impact on the evolution of the Labor law, both in terms of research and teaching, and in the role of inspirer of some fundamental reforms, including - precisely - the Workers' Statute.