This Isn’t Work, It’s Exploitation
- Bethan Bowett
Italian workers occupy an ever-lower place in the European division of labor.
Workers cleaning the Trevi fountain in Rome, Italy. fabulousfabs / Flickr
Italy’s governing Democratic Party (PD) looks set for defeat in next March’s general elections, with both the Right and the Five Star Movement (M5S) on the march. Even amid soaring youth unemployment and two decades of economic stagnation, there are at best scattered signs of renewed social struggle.
What explains the weakness of the Italian labor movement? What role do European Union policies, mass emigration, and precarity play in defusing labor struggles? Or are there instead grounds to resist the narrative of a pacified Italy? David Broder spoke to Marta Fana, author of the recent book This Isn’t Work, It’s Exploitation (Non è lavoro, è sfruttamento). A labor activist, Fana is also well-known for her sharp TV exchanges with the spokesmen of Italian business.
David Broder
You have often talked about the dismal state of workers’ conditions in Italy. How does this compare to other European countries? How far should a measure like the recent Jobs Act be seen as part of a wave of deregulation, like with Hartz IV or the Loi Travail [France’s recent anti-worker legislation]?
Marta Fana
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