The essay traces the evolution of the system of industrial relations in the post-constitutional period to highlight the deviation between the real processes regulating the employment relation and the interpretations accepted by doctrine and jurisprudence traditionally remained at theoretical premises of civil law partly inadequate. This became particularly evident after the collapse of the unity of trade union action and the signing of separate agreements, with respect to which the civil doctrine is found disoriented and proposed reconstructions unreliable.
In the second part, the essay focuses on the recent interconfederal agreement of June 2011, who has taken again the long path traditionally played by interconfederal agreements, trying to overcome recent union divisions and some excesses related to the Fiat case. However, the objectives pursued by the agreement seem undermined by the recent regulation on proximity collective agreement (article 8 of law decree n. 138/2011 converted to law n. 148/2011) that presents issues of dubious legality and seems to favor disruptive and divisive processes.