"Partecipanti" o "partecipati"? Lettera aperta al sindacato italiano sulla regolazione della produzione snella e sul caso tedesco

In the unusual form of an «open letter», the article first considers the dilemmas for interest representation involved in the transition to lean production. Focusing on how the «German model» responds to these dilemmas, the author reviews the problems of inter-firm bargaining (producer-suppliers network) as well as team work within the German automobile industry. His subsequent analysis of the collective agreements reached in German firms reveals a contradiction. Germany is foremost in Europe in embedding lean production within an explicit bargaining process which rests on a commitment to negotiation and company agreements. Yet, the institutional structure of codetermination (Mitbestimmung) seems ever less able to managed these norms that itself produces because the «company constitution» remain based on the Fordist company model. The final section of the «letter» is devoted to the implications of the German case for the Italian unions. Following a brief critical review of the Fiat Melfi agreements, the author closes with an appeal to the unions to overcome their division. This is the first redundancy to be eliminated in the Italian transition to lean production.