Pitigliani, Fausto, ''The Italian Corporative State'', 1933.

THE ITALIAN

CORPORATIVE STATE

THE ITALIANCORPORATIVE

STATEBY

FAUSTO PITIGLIANI~

DOCTOR IN ECONOMICS AND IN LAW

FORMERLY RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE BROOKINGS

INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, D.C.

LONDON

P. S. KING & SON, LTD.ORCHARD HOUSE, GREAT SMITH STREET

WESTMI~STER, S.W.r

1933

PRINT&D II( GnAT .IlITAIN

To

THE MEMORY OF

ERZSI SZEGHEO

INTRODUCTION

W HAT is meant by the Corporative State? Such is thequestion which an Italian citizen is constantly expectedto answer to-day, when discussing political questionswith a friend of some other nationality, and this questionmay now be said fairly to have taken the place of thoseothers such as, "What does Fascism mean?" or "Whowill be Mussolini's successor?" to which he had grownaccustomed but a short while ago.

This new stage of evolution in the questions of personsinterested in political developments shows that, as aresult of what they have heard or of what they have readin articles by visitors to Italy, or in official communications, there is at last emerging a rough general ideaof what Fascism really is and of what it sets out toaccomplish. Moreover, it would appear that the moreenlightened public would be grateful for further information, not merely as to the external aspects of theFascist movement, but more particularly regarding thepolitical structure which it has gradually brought intobeing.

Fascism, which arose in the first instance as a revolutionary manifestation, and has from the beginningclaimed to be considered as such, might well to-dayhe regarded merely as a reactionary movement of aConservative, bourgeois and anti-socialistic type, if ithad simply limited itself to a forcible re-establishmentof internal order and of discipline in the field oflabour and had not at the same time brought abouta change in existing institutions, inspiring them witha conception absolutely foreign to that which hadpreviously characterised Democratic and Liberal Governments.

vii

viii Introduction

Undoubtedly the early ~ascist attac.ks on t~~ institutions of the day and the violence of Its hostility to itsadversaries were not to any large degree based on welImatured or fully considered theory. The earlier actionof the Fascist Party was the outcome of a spontaneousand vigorous movement for the protection of certainclearly ~ned moral and economic interests. When,however, the positions essential for the proper governing of the country had been once secured, it becamenecessary for Fascism to recast the implications of itsown theory, and to establish a line of policy which wouldinfuse the new State institutions with a living spirit,attuned to the political and economic conditions of theage.

The idea of the sovereignty of the State and of nationalunity is the primary motive underlying the Fascist theoryof government. "All within the State, all for the State,none against the State" is a M ussolinian slogan whichsums up forcibly enough the Fascist purpose of concentranng in the Government the maximum degree ofpower, of authority and of responsibility. Through thisconcentration and the consequential strengthening of itscapacity for encouraging, controlling and directing everykind of movement within the State, the Government isgreatly advantaged in finding a solution, with due regardto the interests of the Nation at large) of all those problems which elsewhere come up for consideration byrepresentative assemblies or Parliaments, slow at comingto decisions and hesitant in their policies under thein~u~nce of divergent currents of political or of localopinion.

Parallel to this unifying principle, which correspondsto a clearly marked present-day tendency towards increasing the power and responsibility of governments,and at the same time fulfils the requirement of a closerfusion of the various districts of Italy, in some casesn~t yet coml?letely cured of a certain excess~ve ~egionalism, there IS to be noted another concept tmEllcit inthe State system which ,..~ascism desires to build up-

Introduction ix

namely, the economic collaboration of the variouscategories 1 engaged in production.

This new economic departure may be said to lie somewhere between the Liberalism which originated inEngland, where it found a school to work out its theories,parties to preach them and economic conditions speciallyfavourable for their practical application on a large scale,and the Communism which in Russia unites to-day andgives practical effect to those Marxist theories that in thepast had found acceptance to a greater or less degree inmany parts of Europe.

In effect, the new theory neither abrogates nor deniesthe antagonism between classes; it seeks on the contraryto differentiate therein the various categories concernedin production and to harmonise the inevitable causes ofcontrasting views on a basis of equality and in the lightof common interests.

The different categories of producers are representedofficially by various Occupational Associations which incertain aspects find their parallel in the English TradeUnions, differing however from these Unions inasmuchas they are officially recognised by the Government.These Occupational Associations, consisting solely ofemployers or of workers or of persons belonging to oneor other of the liberal professions, are grouped in Corporations for purposes of the protection and developmentof some specific branch of production. These advisorybodies are organs of State, and they embody all theelements involved in a given branch of productionnamely, capital, labour and technical direction. It isprecisely from the character of these institutions-sodistinctive a feature of the new political and economicorder in Italy-that the epithet of "corporative" isderived, which serves to differentiate the Fascist Statein its particular characteristics from other State typesbased on principles fundamentally different.

1 The word "category," which has something of an Aristotelian flavour, isintended to signify the occupational grouping of individuals, or of firmsengaged in some particular branch of productive activity.

x Introduction

Syndicalism itself, anterior in order of time to Fascist"corporativism," and representing a political theoryclosely akin thereto, does not now seem to cover the entire field, seeing that it so largely depends upon the ideaof the inevitability of the class struggle. The idea of a"State of Syndicates" differs from that of the CorporativeState, inasenuch as, side by side with the needs and aspirations of the various categories of producers organisedin Occupational Associations, there also exist certainmoral and historical values which are not limited to theinterests of these associations, nor are simply an appanageof them, but have reference to the Nation viewed asa single whole, which is something far transcending amere organisation of various occupational activities.

The legal conception of property and of private enterprise necessarily comes to be modified in the light ofthe interests of the producers' categories and of theinterests of the Nation as a whole. The function ofprivate enterprise is assessed from the standpoint ofpublic interest, and hence an owner or director of abusiness undertaking is responsible before the State forhis production policy. Thus the State reserves to itselfthe right to intervene and to take the place of the individual, should he misuse his rights.

Such then are the principles upon which the structureof the Corporative State is founded. These principlescame to be formulated in the course of some ten years'experience of governing and had not been directly foreseen, it should be noted, by any student of politics orsociology. Under the shadow of the Fascist Bag, ina political atmosphere constantly warmed at the fires ofnational idealism and characterised by persistent effortto raise the national prestige and to reach a high stageof achievement, there has been evolved this theory ofthe State which, although appraising every manifestationsolely in relation to its practical connection with vitalconcerns, is now tending to determine a scale of interests,within which those of the Nation considered as a singleindivisible unit are predominant,

Introduction Xl

The object of the J?resent study is to give as accuratea description as possible of the organisation of the Corporative State as regards the relations between capitaland labour.

It is proposed here to show how the institutions, whichare intended to assist in dealing with the difficultiesarising out of the differences between classes, have beenbuilt up, without however presuming that the organisation at present existing in Italy can serve absolutely toeliminate all such difficulties.

The first part of the book is designed to explain, forthe benefit of a non-Italian reader, the principles of theCorporative Organisation. It begins with a descriptionof the Occupational Associations (Chap. I), which presentthe clearest point of contact of classical syndicalism with"corporativism." Attention is called to the importanceof the functions of the Occupational Associations, totheir historical evolution and to their relations with theState; in addition certain details regarding their constitution are given.

The most striking results of the work of these Associations are to be found in the various methods followedin determining economic relations, that is to say, in thecollective contracts (Chap. II), which lay down a priorithe basic conditions under which labour is to be performed, and in the Labour Courts (Chap. III), whichsettle disputes arising in consequence of the non-fulfilment of the terms of the agreements whereby conditionsof service should be regulated.

After acknowledgment of the absolute equality ofrights as between the various Occupational Associations,representing respectively the different categories of producers, the Corporative System comes up for treatmentas an evolution of syndical theory. The Corporations(Chap. IV) are shown as the machinery available forbringing about collaboration of interests as among thecategories engaged in production. These central organsof liaison are considered from the point of view of theirtheoretical construction, and at the same time from the

xii Introduction

point of view of their practical working, so as to givethe reader an idea, by means of concrete example~ ofthe possibilities and of the value of the general principlesinvolved in the system.

Passing next to the discussion of institutions of widerscope, a description is given of the National Council ofthe Connorations. This body focusses the work of theCorporations in all branches of their activities throughout Italy, and is an administrative organ endowed withsuch special attributions as make it a powerful influencein the development of the means of production and inthe trend of the entire economic system of the nation.

All this organising activity, which in very many caseshas had to evolve a sound system where previously noneexisted at all, and all the time worked in harmony witha new conception of economic life, is controlled anddirected by appropriate official bureaus, brought togetherin the Ministry of the Corporations.

An analysis is given explaining the organisation of thechief departments of this body to which are attributedfunctions of fundamental importance in the making ofthe new Corporative State.

The concluding portion of the first part is devoted toa description of the special characteristics of the Corporative Parliament (Chap. V). As a result of the neweconomic organisation, the Italian Chamber of Deputieshas taken on a new aspect, its present membership beinglargely based on the principle of the representation ofthe productive forces of the country. Hence specialattention is devoted, not merely to the character of themembership of the new Parliament and its electionmachinery, but also to the new principles adopted byFascism as regards the qualification of the elector.

The second part of the book bears the title "Occupational Associations in Practice."

In this 'part it has been the intention of the writer todiscuss in some detail the Syndical Associations. Theestablishment of these associations may be regarded asthe first practical result.. on a large scale of the corporative

. .

11ltroduetion xiii

policy, and they have now been at work for fully sixyears on lines that do not materially differ from thosefollowed to-day. Thus the history of each of the greatOccupational Associations receives particular attention,and an attempt has been made to trace their origins, notonly in the post-war period, but also since the beginningof the century. At the same time a fuller descriptionis given of those associations which, for certain reasons,either of an economic or "syndical" order, includingclass organisation or action for protection of interests,seem to stand out as the actual forerunners of the presentConfederations.

This brief historical inquiry (for which it would appearthere are but few precedents) would seem to indicatethat the establishment of the great Occupational Associations which flourish in Italy to-day is properly connectedwith all that syndical movement which developed beforethe war, and that in several cases the Fascist organisationsrepresent a real evolution of previous institutions.

In each case a full account of the present constitutionof the existing association is given.

The thirteen sections into which Chapter VI is dividedare followed by a summary account of the social welfareactivities that have been fostered by the CorporativeRegime (Chap. VII). Every benefit scheme of a collective character promoted, not by law in a form involving a liability on the citizens in general, but by theOccupational Associations, comes under discussion inthis chapter. A clear distinction is drawn between institutions and movements resulting from the efforts of aConfederation or of a Vocational Association on behalf ofits own members, and those which arise in consequenceof the joint action of Associations between employersand workers engaged in the same branch of occupationalactivity.

Naturally the Workers' Leisure Time National Institute (Dopolavoro), which is one of the most originaland characteristic features of Fascist activities in the fieldof social assistance, comes in for special 'notice.

xiv Introduction

But how do all these Occupational Associationsmanage to pay ,their way? Such is the question whichnaturally occurs to anyone interested in the financialside of a system seemingly so complex and elaborate.Chapter VIII contains a statement as to the contributions for syndical purposes which the law imposes on allpersons concerned in the process of production. Inaddition [i'supplies information as to the kind of contribution that the associations themselves demand fromtheir members in order to meet the cost of certain specialrequirements.

The book also contains three appendices. AppendixA gives the texts of the fundamental laws relating to thepresent order, which represent, so to say, its backboneand Magna Charta. Appendix B gives some statisticaldata on the most characteristic aspects of the syndicalmovement, etc., while Appendix C is an attempt todetermine on orthodox lines, bearing Edgeworth'stheories specially in mind, what is the economic interpretation of a wage fixed by any form of arbitration, asin the case of collective contracts under the CorporativeRegime, rather than one determined by a free bargaining between employers and workers on a given market.

AUTHO R'S ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS

THIS study was undertaken in the first instance verylargely at the suggestion of Comm. L. A. Miglioranzi,to whom the writer wishes to make his most friendlyacknowledgements.

In connection with the work of translation and revisionthe valued advice and service of Mr. W. T. H. Walshhave been constantly available. To him, to Mrs. GiorgiaBises-Danesi for assistance given in the preparation ofAppendix C and of Chapter II, and to Mr. J- K. Montgomery for much appreciated help in the translation andarrangement of a large section of Part II, a cordial tributeof thanks is due.

Throughout the preparation of this' study it wasnecessary to work in close contact with certain Officesof the Ministry of Corporations. The author desires toexpress to the various members of the staff whom heconsulted his cordial sense of gratitude for their valuedassistance.

CONTENTS

PART I

PRINCIPLES OF THE CORPORATIVE SYSTEMCHAP.

I. OCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

PACI

3

I. The Relations between the State and the Occupational Associations (§ I. Changes in the Conception of the State; § 2. Political Influence ofOccupational Organisation; § 3. French Indi-vidualism and English Constitutionalism) 3

11. Historical Sketch of the Syndical Movement inItaly (§ I. The General Confederation ofLabour; § 2. The Italian Confederation ofWorkers; § 3. The Italian Syndical Union;§ 4. Syndicalism of Sorel and pre-Fascist Syndical Organisations: (0) The Italian Union ofLabour, (0) National Committee of Dannunzian Syndical Action, (c) The National LabourOffice; § 5. The National Confederation ofSyndical Corporations). ' 6

III. Special Characteristics of Fascist Syndicalism(§ I. Organisation of all the Productive Categories; § 2. Organisation on National Lines;§ 3. The Regime of Property) 16

IV. Legally recognised Associations and dt faCIOAssociations (§ I. Three fundamental requisites for Recognition; § 2. Public Status ofrecognised Occupational Associations; § 3.Powers of legally recognised Associations:(a) Stipulation of Collective Labour Contracts, (b) Appointment of Representatives ofthe various Productive Categories, (c) Levyof Contributions on the persons represented;§ 4. Provincial Unions, Federations, Confederations, Sections and Syndicates; § 5. D~ factoAssociations) 20

XVII B

xviiiCHAP.

ContentsPACE

V. Rules of Occupational Associations (§ I. Constition and objects of Occupational Associations;§ 2. Admission to Membership; § 3. Organs ofOccu pational Associations; § 4. Election of theSyndical Officers; § 5. Assets of the SyndicalAssociations; § 6. Disciplinary Supervision). 3I

II. TH~,f~OLLECTIVECONTRACTS 40

I. The Importance of Collective Contracts (§ I. TheCollective Contract as a means of establishingEconomic Relations; § 2. Comprehensivenessand Stability as essential conditions in Collective Contracts; § 3. Collective Contracts andState Intervention in the Law of 3 April 1926and in previous Legislation; § 4. Subordinationof the interests of the various Categories to thegeneral interests of Production; § 5. IndividualRelations and Collective Contracts. Definitionof the Collective Contract) 40

II. The Settlement of Collective Contracts (§ I. Pointscovered by Collective Contracts; § 2. Responsibility of Occupational Associations in the eventof non-fulfilment; § 3. The Substance of Collective Contracts: (0) Rules relating to Discipline; (0) Rules relating to Remuneration; (c)Social Insurance and Benefits; § 4. The Formof the Collective Contract; § 5. Assent andApproval; § 6. Deposit and Publication). 45

III. Wages under the Collective Contract (§ I. Conditions governing Wages under the CorporativeSystem; § 2. Normal Requirements of Life indetermining Wages under the CorporativeSystem; § 3. Time Rates and Piece Rates) 52

IV. Collective Contracts in their practical applicationin Italy (§ I. National, inter-Provincial andProvincial Collective Contracts; § 2. Detailsshowing the usual rules contained in each Col-lective Contract 56

III. LABOUR CoUR.TS • 60

I. The State and Labour Disputes (§ I. OrdinaryJurisdiction and the assistance of Expert Advisors; § 2. Compulsory Intervention of theState) • 60

.Contents xixCHAP. PAGE

II. Historical Precedent and Instances of comparableLegislation (§ I. France. The "Collse;J desPrud'lJofllflles." The Loucheur Bill of 1927;§ 2. Germany. ArIJeitsgtrichte (Labour Courts).L01l4esarotitsgerichte (Regional Labour Courts),.RtichsarIJeitsgerichtt (Imperial Labour Courts);§ 3. Great Britain. "Arbitration Act.""Councils of Conciliation Act." War Legislation. Attitude of the British Public; § 4. UnitedStates of America. "Conciliation Courts."Voluntary and Compulsory Arbitration in theUnited States. Present-day Tendencies. TheKansas Experiment; § 5. Russia. VoluntaryArbitration. The various adjudicating Bodies.Compulsory Arbitration) 6 I

III. Settlement of individual Labour Disputes inItaly (§ I. Composition of the adjudicatingBodies. Method of bringing an Action. TheParties in the Case. Attem pts to reach agreedSettlement. The Panel of Experts. GeneralTendencies of these Regulations; § 2. Noteson the Practice followed in Italian Laws. Historical explanation of certain inconsistencies.Importance of Local Usages. Variations inContractual Conditions. Compensation forDismissal. Legal obligation to pay agreedRetribution) 68

IV. Settlement of Collective Labour Dispu tes inItaly (§ I. Constitution of the Labour Court.Competence of the Labour Court. Its juridical Character. Method of bringing an Action. Panel of Experts. Parties in the Case.Attempts to reach agreed Settlement; § 2. Concrete Cases brought before the Labour Courtas a Tribunal of First Instance. Case of theRice-weeders. Casessettled before the stage ofa Legal Decision. Cases regarding the Validityof Collective Contracts) 76

V. Penal Labour Law (§ I. The Strike; § 2. TheLockout; § 3. Notes on the practice followed inItalian Law. The Interpretation of the Court.Cases of solidarity with other Workers. Suspension of Work for economic or politicalmotives) 86

xx

CHAP.

IV.

ContentsPAGE

CORPORATIVE ORGANISATION-THE CORPORATIONS AND THE

NATIONAL CoUNCIL OF THE CORPORATIONS 91

I. The Corporative System as a development of Syndicalism (§ I. The Syndical Association and theCorporation. § 2. Originality of the Corporative solution and necessity for guiding principles in the development of the NationalEconomy; § 3. Characteristic features of theCorporations; § 4. Objects and powers of theCorporation and the Organs through which itworks) 9 1

II. The National Council of the Corporations (§ I.

Change in character resulting from the Law of30 March 1930; § 2. Sections and sub-Sectionsof the Council; § 3. The General Assembly;§ 4. Special Permanent Commissions; § 5. Central Corporative Committee; § 6. Functions ofthe National Council of the Corporations: (a)The issue of Statements of Opinion, (6) ThePower to authorise the issue of Instructions,(t) The issue of Regulations; § 7. Character ofthe National Council of the Corporations) • 101

III. The Corporations in their actual working (§ I.

The Corporation of the Stage; § 2. The Sections of the National Council of the Corporationsacting as Corporations; § 3. Provincial Econo-mic Councils) • I 10

IV. The Ministry of Corporations and its vanousDepartments . 117

v. THE CoRPORATIVE ORGANISATION (col1til1Utd)-THE COR-

PORATIVE PARLIAMENT • • 124-

I. Innovations in the Italian Electoral System (§ I.

Characteristic features of the new ItalianPolitical Elections Law; § 2. New Qualifications required of the Elector; § 3. Single National Electoral College; § 4. Three stages inthe Election of Members: (a) Nomination of theCandidates by the Occupational Associations,(b) Selection by the Fascist Grand Council,(c) Approval by the Electorate) • 124

Contents xxiCHAP. PAGE

II. The Machinery of the Election (§ I. The Lists ofElectors; § 2. Provincial Elections Commissions;§ 3. Electoral Sections; § 4. Voting Papers;§ 5. National Elections Bureau and Elections onalternative Lists) . • J 29

III. Observations on the Corporative Parliament (§ I.

Characteristic features of the New Chamber;§ 2. The New Chamber and the tendencies inthe Policy of the Corporative State) . 133

PART II

OCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS IN PRACTICE

VI. OUTLINE OF SYNDICAL HISTORY AND PRESENT CoNSTITU-

TION OF THE VARIOUS CoNFEDERATIONS • • 141

I. General Fascist Confederation of Italian Industry(§ I. Industrial Associations among Employersfor technical and syndical purposes before theWar; § 2. The Confederation of Industry afterthe War; § 3. Present Constitution of the Confederation; § 4. Development of the Organisa-tion) . . If I

II. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates ofIndustry (§ I. Italian Workers' Organisationsbefore the War: (a) Socialistic, (6) Catholic,(c) Independent; § 2. Beginning of the Syndical Movement, properly so called; § 3. Industrial Workers in the Corporative Organisa-tion) · • 149

III. National Fascist Confederation of Farmers (§ I.

Associations among Landowners for technicaland syndical purposes before the War; § 2. TheStruggle between Landowners and AgriculturalLabourers after the War and its effects on theSyndical Organisation; § 3. Present Constitutionof the Confederation) • • I S8

IV. National Confederation of Fascist AgriculturalSyndicates (§ I. Socialistic and Catholic Move..ments among Italian Agricultural Labourersbefore the War; § 2. Origin and Principles ofFascist Syndicalism among Agricultural Labourers; § 3. Present Constitution of the Con-federation) • ' • • 163

xxiiCHAP.

ContentsPACE

V. National Fascist Confederation of Commerce(§ I. Local and National Associations amongItalian Commercial Men before the War;§ 2. Fascism and the Syndical Organisation ofCommercial Men) · 169

VI. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates ofCommerce (§ I. First Occupational Associations,mainly for purposes of Mutual Aid, amongItalian Private Employees; § 2. Syndical tendency in the Employees' Organisations beforethe War; § 3. Present Constitution of the Con-federation of Syndicates of Commerce) · 175

VII. National Fascist Confederation of Sea and AirTransport (§ I. Shipowners' Organisations before and under the Fascist Regime; § 2. Dis-tinguishing features of the Confederation) • 182

VIII. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates ofSeamen and Airmen (§ I. Syndical consequences of the altered relations between Shipowners and Seamen; § 2. Syndical Movementof Italian Seamen after the War and under theFascist Regime; § 3. Present Constitution of theConfederation) • 186

IX. National Fascist Confederation of Internal Communications (§ I. Technical and Syndical Workof the Associations for Land Transport Enterprises; § 2. Present Constitution of the Con-federation) · • 193

x. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates ofInternal Communications (§ I. Outline of theSyndical history of: (a) Railway and TramwayWorkers, (6) Employees in Telephone Services, (c) Dock Labourers; § 2. Present Consti-tution of the Confederation) • • 196

XI. National Fascist Confederation of Credit andInsurance (§ I. First Associations, mainly technical in character, among Bankers; § a, Organisation of Banks under the Fascist R~8ime; § 3.Development of the Organisation) • • • 203

Contents...

XXIII

CHAP. PAGE

XII. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates ofEmployees in Banks and Insurance Offices(§ I. Organisation of Bank Employees beforeFascism; § 2. Fascism and the Organisation ofBank and Insurance Employees; § 3. PresentConstitution of the Confederation) • . 210

XIII. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates ofProfessional Men and Artists (§ I. ProfessionalOrders or "Colleges"; § 2. First Associations ofa Syndical Character among Intellectual Work-ers; § 3. Fascism and the development of theSyndical Organisation of Intellectual Workers) 2 I 6

VII. THE WORK OF SoCIAL AsSISTANCE UNDER THE CORPORATIVE

REGIME. . 223

I. Social Assistance and Insurance (§ 1 • Work to bedone by Syndical Associations in compliancewith regulations laid down by the Law; § 2.

Institutions, bilateral or Corporative in character, for Assistance and Insurance; § 3. Institu-tions established by Individual Confederations) 223

II. The Workers' Leisure Time National Institute(Optra Nazionale Dopola'lJoro) (§ I. The Institute as an outcome of Syndical Activity; § 2.

Leisure Time Institutes connected with particular Firms and Leisure Time Institutes ingeneral) . 234

VIII. NOTES ON SYNDICAL CoNTRIBUTIONS · 238

I. Methods of determining the compulsory Contributions payable by the various SyndicalCategories . . 238

II. Other types of Contributions . 242

III. Characteristics of Syndical Contributions 243

ApPENDIX A. THE LABOUR CHARTER • • 245(The Corporative State and its Organisation;

Collective Labour Contracts and Labour Guarantees; Employment Bureaus; Principles ofProvidence, Social Assistance, Training andEducation) • • 245

xxiv ContentsCHAP. PAGE

ApPENDIX B. STATISTICAL TABLES 251

(Syndical Associations of Employers; SyndicalAssociations of Workers; Syndical Associationsof Professional Men and Artists; Number ofFirms or of Individuals represented and ofMembers in the Syndical Associations of Employers of Labour; Number of Persons represented and of Members in the Syndical Associations of Workers; Syndical Contributionsreceived; Collective Labour Contracts: National,In terprovincial, Provincial; Mutual Aid andInsurance Funds for Industrial Workers inItaly; National Index Number for Cost of Living(1914-32); Average December Rates of Wagesper Hour (1928-32); Labour Disputes: (0)1914-26, (b) 1926-3 I . 25 I

ApPENDIX C. THE ECONOMIC BASIS OF ARBITRATION IN

REGARD TO LABOUR • • 260

I.-(§ I. Absolutely free competition is a theoreticalcase in a Market; § 2. It renders the Marketperfect in so far as it multiplies indefinitely thenumber of Exchanges, but new hindrancesarise every day to the concrete realisation ofthis theoretical case; § 3. Presen t tendenciesseem to favour great International Combines,both financial and commercial; Ethical Mo-tives largely influence the organisation of production in so far as they aim at the widerDistribution of Wealth either by a Policy ofHigh Wages or by a General Nationalisation). 260

II.-(§ I. Dominating Influence of Economic Motiveson Labour, Secondary Influence of Ethicaland Social Motives; § 2. Probable Change inthis Situation) . 263

III.-(§ I. Elementary case of Barter between twoContracting Parties in a Closed Market;§ 2. Table of possible combinations betweentwo commodities for each of the two Contracting Parties; § 3. Graphic representationby means of the curves of proportionatelyconstant satisfaction; § 4. Investigation of thePoint of Agreement between the ConstantSatisfaction of the two Contracting Parties.

Contents xxv

CHAP. PAGE

Determination of the Contract-Curve. FinalSettlements; ; S. Notes on a controversy between Edgeworth and Berry regarding a passagefrom Marshall; § 6. The Limit to which thePoint of Equilibrium par excellence tends inthe Theoretical Economic Construction abovereferred to; § 7. Conditions required by Edgeworth for having the Point of Equilibrium parexcellence and the reasons why these conditionsare not found in Practice; § 8. The fewer thenumber of competitors the more the Field ofIndeterminateness increases) . 265

IV.-(§ I. All kinds of Groups or Combinations amongProducers tend to diminish the number of competitors in a Market or, at any rate, to incorporate them in homogeneous Organisations;§ 2. Trade-Unions and Syndicates; § 3. Imperfections inherent in Combinations; § 4. Needfor a principle of Arbitration. The Decisionsof an Arbitrator find full economic Justificationwhen they fall within the Limits of the Regionof Indeterminateness. They find Justificationin the utilitarian Basis of our Ethics and arefounded on the Spirit of Political Quietismcharacteristic of the present period) 277

V.-(§ I. The System of Graphic Representationpreviously indicated may be applied also in thecase in which one of the Contracting Parties isthe State; § 2. No ground lies for a Principleof Arbitration) 282

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

INDEX

PART I

PRINCIPLES OF THE CORPORATIVESYSTEM

CHAPTER I

OCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

1. THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE STATE AND THEOCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

§ I. THE fundamental question round which labourproblems at present centre is that of the relations beChanges in tween the State and the occupational associathe Concep- tions and between the individual and the occu-tion of the pational associations. The conception of theState. State has undergone notable theoretical varia-tions from the Middle Ages to the present time. Theelements on which the State organisation is based showcontinual changes with profound modifications in therelations which bind them to one another.

§ 2. Without recalling the various types of occupational association recorded in history, from the firstPolitical "Collegia" of the republican epoch to theInfluence of present Fascist Syndical Associations, it isOccup~tio.nal evident how the occupational associationsOrganisation. arise to safeguard the economic and politicalinterests of individuals. Where a number of personsexercise similar trades, from the plurality of interestsarise spontaneously agreements for the control of labourand the regulation of competition. Every productiveorganisation implies an occupational organisation amongthe persons engaged in the various branches of production.

The workers in the medieval Italian communes boundthemselves together in leagues and corporations. Theseassociations,of which the objects were mainly economic,assumed considerable political importance so that theybalanced, by their united organisation, the political power

3

-+ The Ita/ian Corporative State

of the nobles. The trade associations took up variousattitudes in relation to the government of the State.While there were fierce conflicts between the occupational associations of Florence and the communes, inVenice the economic life regulated by the crafts developedin quiet productiveness, under the guidance of a powerful Government separate from the craft corporations.In this cofluection it may be remarked that, if the corporative system in force in Venice did not degenerateinto ruinous discord, this was due to the strength ofthe government of-the Republic. But this strength wasderived not so much from the organisation of the corporative system as from the very nature of the Governmentwhich, while dominating the corporations of crafts andtrades, was composed of persons drawn from the ranksof a strict and conservative aristocracy.

This consideration must be borne in mind when onespeaks of the necessity of a strong State and of a syndical regime. In view of the mainly economic organisation of modern States the aristocracy in power must besought in the field of productive forces organised onsyndical lines, so that it is from the corporative organisation itself that the strength and the authority of theState are derived.

§ 3. The individualistic spirit that manifested itselfat the time of the French Revolution in the emancipationF h I di of the Third Estate, limited, as is wellvi~:~lis: 1- known, the possibilities of existence of occupaand English tional associations. The suppression of these<:onslt~tu- associations was particularly injurious to thetiona Ism. k h h· f I I·wor ers W 0, on t e rise 0 arge-sca e In-dustry in the last century, found themselves unorganisedin the face of powerful employers. When they againarose, the associations were ignored by successive governments, until they became so influential and so numerousas to compel the governments to recognise them. Theirrecognition was limited to the private aspect, so that theoccupational associations have attained full capacitywithout special consideration of their economic import-

Occupational Associations 5

ance. The collective entity of a group is still conceivedas a person enjoying individual rights limited only bythe rules laid down by the Civil Code.

In France occupational associations have had a markedtendency towards a certain unconstitutionalism, so thatthe legal rules laid down to regulate them have provedto be inadequate. In fact no duty towards the community is imposed on the workers' syndicates, whichare often found to be the arbitrators of the nationaleconomy.

Even in England, where the widespread individualismhad no legislative sanctions and occupational associations were not directly opposed, the Guilds, inspired bysentiments of brotherhood and co-operation, showedthemselves to be inadequate in the face of the profoundchanges in economic organisation. The period betweenthe end of the eighteenth century and about the middleof the nineteenth century was marked by the struggleagainst the workers' unions of the individualist and freetrade manufacturers, who were opposed to the legalrecognition of the existence of the associations. Thehostility shown to the Trade Unions and the necessityof strengthening their internal organisation in face ofthe demands of industrial progress carried these occupational associations to a degree of equilibrium and responsibility never reached before.

The relations between the Trade Unions and theGovernment of Great Britain were always confinedwithin the limits of constitutional reform. The TradeUnions are to-day probably inadequate for the requirements of the modern workers' movement owing to thescanty possibilities they can offer to unskilled workersin difficult economic conditions. The spirit of rigidconstitutionalism, which was the reason of their strengthin the past, is to-day an obstacle in view of the changein the aspirations of the working classes in the development of social phenomena.

6 The Italian Corporative State

II. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SYNDICALMOVEMENT IN ITALY

§ I. The syndical movement in Italy is much simplerand more recent than in the countries mentioned.

Th G 1 Large-scale industry rose in the second halfe enera f d I 1° d i cConfedera- 0 the last century an was oca ise In a lew

tion of "'-districts of northern Italy. The LiberalLabour. Governments, after a period of energeticopposition to the efforts of the workers to organise themselves, those efforts having for the most part a socialisticand a revolutionary tendency, ceased to interest themselves in any recognition of occupational associations,without even limiting them to the private form alreadynoted in regard to France.

Besides, the constitutional regulation of the associations formed would have been supremely difficult, sincethe great majority of the organised workers' unions weresocialistic or revolutionary in character and were basedon sccial principles different from those of the Liberalismthen dominant.

The various associations which between 1 870 and1906 preceded the General Confederation of Labour(Confederazione Generate del Lavoro) were inspired bysocialistic theories. These were the First Internationalof 1880, the Workers' Party (Partito operaio) from 1882to 1890 and the first Chambers of Labour (Camere delLavoro) or leagues of resistance. The last-named institutions combined in 1902 to form a General Secretariatof Resistance (Segretariato generale della resistenza), whichwas transformed in 1906 into the General Confederationof Labour.

The latter body was distinguished by the form ofstruggle adopted and by its political tendency, from Syndicalism properly so called, which may be understood tobe a movement of society grouped in occupational classesofworkers and aiming at establishing a new social organisation.! The Confederation, indeed, participated too

1 Merrneix, Le Syndicalisme contre le Socialism«, pp. 307-8. Paris, 1907.

Occupational Associations 7closely in the political life of the Italian Socialist Party,with which it was officially associated in 1917, having,moreover, carried out its policy for some years previously.

The syndical activity of the Confederation was influenced by the tendencies dominating socialist policy.This was characterised in Italy by a hesitation betweenintransigent proposals and attempts at compromise withthe classes in power.

The Confederation supported the demands of theworkers in their struggles against the employers in asomewhat vacillating manner, dispersing their efforts innumerous strikes frequently crowned by a success whichwas illusory, because every increase of wages obtainedwas followed by an immediate increase in the prices ofarticles of primary necessity, an increase which inevitablyaffected the budgets of the working classes.' Theoccupation of the factories in 1920 was a characteristicepisode of syndical activity badly directed and badly coordinated, both from the political and from the technicalpoint of view. In fact, the persons who formed thefactory councils or acted as managers showed themselvesquite unprepared for the tasks entrusted to them in consequence of the adoption of the new system of management. After a few weeks of experiment the workershad to abandon their undertaking, leaving only resolutions and draft laws as tangible evidence of the point towhich their achievements had arrived.

The existence of a political party which was numerousand had been organised for some time, undoubtedlyencouraged the working classes to become members ofthe General Confederation of Labour. On the other.hand, the political attitude, which the Confederation wasof necessity obliged to adopt, compromised the practicalsteps taken by the trade syndicates with a view to obtaining improvements in favour of the workers.

Syndical phenomena, inasmuch as they are phenomenamainly of an economic nature, are better handled on atechnical than on a preconceived political ground.

1 Viana, SindacalismoJ p. 8. Bari, 19~3.

Members.1,159,062

• 2,200,000

1,128,000


The membership attained by the General Confederation of Labour shows the remarkable development ofthis organisation:-

tt-·'

From this date the number of members began todecline and continued to do so until 1926:-

192 2 .

192 3 .19 24 .192 5 .

Members.

· 40 0 ,0 0 0

• 212,000

• 201,000

• 200,000 1

§ 2. Another syndical movement which became morewidespread and secured a larger membership owing toThe Italian the existence of an organised political party,Confedera- but undoubtedly to the detriment of the econo-tion of mic achievements of its own members, was theWorkers. Catholic syndical movement.

The Catholic Church could not stand aloof from thework which was everywhere being more and moreactively carried on by the various occupational associations. These associations were daily increasing inimportance, were having a notable influence on thepolicy of the various States and not seldom obtainedpossession of power. The associations with socialistictendencies were based on principles contrary to thedoctrines of the Church and were amongst the mostaggressive. It was, therefore, indispensable to create aform of association which, drawing its inspiration fromCatholic doctrines, should follow the demands of themasses in the economic field, where the revolutionaryparties, taking advantage of the changed industrial andsocial conditions, had succeeded in making headway.In fact, the second half of the last century saw the rise

1 Figures taken from the Bollettino del Laooro e della Preoidenxa Sociale(I9I9-26) and quoted by Sacerdoti in the volume L'.Assficiafl:,ione Sindacal«ne! Diritto Italiano. Rome, 1928"


of various types of Christian Associations, such as theCatholic Union (Unione Catto/ica), the Congress Institution (Opera dei Congressi), the Popular Union (UnionePopolare), the Economic and Social Union (UnioneEconomico Sociale), institutions which all derived theirsanction from the well-known Encyclical Rerum Nouarumof Pope Leo XIII issued in 189 I. This Encyclical,which contains the fundamental principles of the socalled Catholic syndicalism, is, rather than an originaleconomic proposal, far more a document of politicalwisdom in which the Church takes its place in history byadopting or following and covering with the mantle of itsown doctrines the victorious assertion of certain political,economic and social principles. The Encyclical RerumNouarum maintains the right of property and consequently rejects Socialism, but prescribes for the varioussocial classes reciprocal duties with the object of effectively and permanently harmonising their relations. Inthis work of conciliation the State must intervene byreconciling private interests with the necessities of thecommon good, which are determined from a technicaland immediate point of view with the aid of economics,but, from the ultimate and continually immanent pointof view, through the moral law. This moral law is,according to the Encyclical Rerum Nouarum and according to the explanations added by another Encyclical,Quadragesimo Anno, recently issued, the Catholic morallaw, as it is written in the Gospels and has been graduallyinterpreted, as historical contingencies arise, by theChurch of Rome.

The Christian syndical movement in Italy was centredin the Italian Confederation of Workers (ConfederazioneItaliano dei Lavoratori) to which were affiliated theNational Syndicates or Federations and afterwards thelocal Unions of Labour (Unioni del Lavoro), called alsoWhite Chambers of Labour (Camere del Lauoro bianche).This syndicalism is differentiated from the analogousrevolutionary types by the absence of the principle ofuncompromising struggle and by the 'recognition and


utilisation of moral factors derived from Christianity.It has, moreover, a predominantly technical and economictone and advocates the effective sharing by the workersin the profits, in the management and in the propertyof undertakings. Following this principle, it has tendedalso to promote Parliamentary Reform, with the objectof having-vi the Senate a technical organ elected by theoccupational associations. Catholic syndicalism furtheraimed at attaining internationalism which from the fieldof labour should extend to the political field throughdisarmament, international arbitration, etc. The sharingsystem desired by the White Syndicates, especially inagriculture, met with considerable difficulties in itsapplication owing to the opposition of the owners.But the greatest difficulties were those which arose forthe syndical organisation from the political tone thathad been imparted to it by the existence of an aggressiveparty, the Italian Popular Party. This party, whichwas formed at the beginning of 19 I 9, had aims whichwent far beyond the interests of the syndical organisationsconnected with it. As a result, that movement whichwas originally intended to organise the working massesaccording to certain Christian principles became apolitical weapon for the acquisition of power, usedsometimes in competition and sometimes in ambiguousagreements with that Socialist Party of which the PopularParty declared itself to be the principal opponent.

The membership of the Italian Confederation ofWorkers from 19 I 9 to 1925 (inclusive) was as follows:

. 1919

1920

192 1

192 2

19231924192 5

Members•200,000

1,25°,000

992 ,0 0 0

597,000

445,000

4 14 ,0 0 0180,000

~ ~. An association, deliberately kept apart from anypolitical party and to a great extent faithful to the prin-

Occupational Associations II

ciples of syndicalism properly so called and as propoundedThe Italian by Sorel, was the Italian Syndical UnionSy~dical (Unione Sindacale Italiana), which was anarchicalUnion. and emancipationist in character and proposedto organise the working class in syndicates in order tocarry them to complete emancipation. The new societywas to have been organised, by means of an uncompromising revolutionary class struggle, on an anticapitalist basis, with the land, the factories and the meansof transport as inalienable common property, collectivelyadministered by the working class itself through themedium of its syndical organisations. The Italian Syndical Union aimed at direct action by the formation oflocal syndicates of manufacture or industry. Thepolicy of this Union was fundamentally different fromthat of the General Confederation, since the Italian Syndical Union aimed exclusively and directly at syndicalorganisation and rejected those forms of collaborationwhich, on the other hand, were frequently used by theGeneral Confederation, though only to attain indirectlythe socialistic aims by which it was inspired. TheItalian Syndical Union, pursuing its programme of directanti-State, anti-democratic and emancipationist action,was coherent in its principles, since it separated its ownpolicy not only from that of the General Confederationof Labour, but also from the Leninist State dictatorship, adopting as its motto "The Syndicate sufficesfor Itself." The Italian Syndical Union, which wasin existence before the war, was very active in the postwar period until the beginnings of Fascist Syndicalism.

§ 4. Syndicalism properly so called is found in Sorel,inasmuch a!') he repudiates any concessions to political

S d· 1· parties as such and aims at overthrowing the

yn lea Ism b · S b h·· f hof Sorel and ourgeois tate y t e organisation 0 t epre-Fascist social classes in trade syndicates and by aSyn.dic~l Or- violent system of struggle. Syndicalismgamsauon, d i If b h b d dprove rtse to e t e movement est a apteto the requirements of the present historical momentfor various reasons, among which the chief lay in

12, The Italian Corporative State

its endeavour to carry the organisation of the workerson to economic rather than on to political ground. Thenucleus of the workers' movement was to be formed bythe trade syndicate and not by the political party.Through the various trade syndicates a productiveorganisation would have been created which graduallywould have given life to a new type of legal and moralsystem, tfie so-called producers' civilisation. Syndicalism therefore comes to be differentiated from Marxism,'not only by its greater violence in upholding certaintheories and for -its uncompromising attitude towardsdemocracy, but also by the fundamental difference ofthe ideals upheld. Marxism, which is based on thematerialistic conception of history, sees in the unfolding.of events the inevitableness of change, while syndicalismreasserts human will and human action as the principleand means of every social happening.

(a) It was in part the theories of Sorel that inspiredcertain Italian workers' organisations which, if they didThe Italian not at first attain the large membership preUnion of viously attained by the Socialist and by theLabour. Catholic associations, nevertheless formed thefundamental elements of Fascist Syndicalism. First inorder of time was the Italian Union of Labour (UnioneItaliana del Lavoro) which succeeded in 19 I 8 the ItalianSyndical Committee (Comitato Sindacale Italiano) alreadyin existence before the outbreak of the war. Thisorganisation, which was republican in character, was thefirst to uphold, side by side with the conception of syndicalism and of the international solidarity of the working class, the conception of the Nation. The syndicalistsof the Italian Union conceived that the social revolutionmust take place 'within the Nation and not against theNation. The name of Filippo Corridoni, considered theleading Italian syndicalist, gives to this organisation, ofwhich he was the founder, an outstanding importancefar greater than that which it derives from the slendernumber of 137,000 workers who were its members in19 18• The Italian Union of Labour did not assume

Occupational Associations IJin regard to the fact of the war the hostile attitude takenup by the opposition parties. Many of the membersjoined up as volunteers, and the survivors, who at thetermination of hostilities re-entered the organisation,infused into it a spirit of dignified Italianism, harmonisingwith the social and revolutionary value of the war andof the victory.

(b) Another movement that deserves to be mentionedwas that which was inspired by the principles contained

N · 1 in the Charter of the Italian Regency of Car-ationa .

Committee of naro. This movement took the name of theDann.unzian National Committee of Dannunzian Syndical~n~lcal Action (Comitato Nazionale di Azione Sinda-

cnon. cale Dannunziana) and looked to GabrieleD'Annunzio as its spiritual head. The name of the poetcarried considerable authority in the field of labour aswell as in the organisation of the city of Fiume, duringthe occupation of the legionaries, and in the period thatfollowed, about 1920-2 I, when the conflicts betweenemployers and workers were particularly bitter. Dannunzian syndicalism starts from the principle that labouris obligatory, whence every individual is obliged to enrolhimself in a trade corporation, and only in this way canhe enjoy political rights.

The economic and political structure of the Nationbased on the rights of the individual is completelychanged. The class, the occupational group, actsdirectly and works by means of representatives chosenfrom it. Every occupational association becomes a corporate body recognised by the State and within the limitsof the State enjoys its rights.

(c) Last in point of time and of importance amongstthe precursors of Fascist syndicalism was the NationalTh Labour Office (Ufficio Nazionale del Lavoro).National This was the name adopted by an organisa-Labour tion, nationalist in character, which was createdOffice. in 1908 but never achieved, in practice,appreciable results. In fact, the political character andthe tendencies of the Nationalist Party were too little


in harmony with the necessities of a systematic organisation of the working class. In any case it is noteworthythat even in its earliest programmes the National LabourOffice advocated a national alliance of the producingclasses and a direct understanding in practice betweenemployers and workers.

The unavoidable economic difficulties of the post-warperiod w~t~ accompanied in Italy as elsewhere by anincrease in the revolutionary spirit amongst the workingclasses. The objective of the struggle was not limitedto the economic ·5eld, but attacked the social order.The red revolutionary tendency disowned the war andrefused to recognise the efforts, the heroism and thevictorious sacrifices of the Italian people from 1914 to1918. The Fasci di Combattimento, which had beenformed in 19 I 9 to combat Bolshevism and to restoreto the Italian people the consciousness of the victoryso hardly won on the field of battle, were by the likenessof their programlne favourable from the beginning tothe syndical activity of the Italian Labour Union. Infact, in the spring of 1919, the Popolo d'Italia, thenewspaper founded by Benito M ussolini which proclaimed itself as the organ of the service-men and ofthe producers, showed itself favourable to the strikesinitiated by the Italian Union of Labour to obtainhigher wages for the workers and the adoption of theeight hours' working day. It is worth noting that oneof these strikes proclaimed from I 5 to I 7 March 1919in an engineering works at Dalmine, consisted in anagitation on the part of the workers without any stoppageof work. This is an incident which shows a newtendency of Italian workers, recognising at the sametime their own· class interests and the interests ofnational production. This attitude became characteristic of the Fascist syndical movement. Several generalstrikes proclaimed for reasons of political solidaritywith foreign workers' syndicates were opposed by thenew Italian syndical movement. In 1920 two eventsoccurred which had an important influence on the


development and on the programme of Fascist syndicalism: the occupation of the factories and their subsequentabandonment, and the proclamation of the ItalianRegency of Carnaro. Though the occupation of thefactories quickly came to an end owing to the unpreparedness of the workers and to the vacillating attitudeof the Government, it was, nevertheless, an episodewhich served to open the eyes of the employers and torender them more active in the defence of their owninterests. The occupation of the factories revealed,moreover, that the workers' socialistic organisations werewanting in leaders capable of fulfilling the revolutionarytask they had set themselves and the prematureness andimpossibility of carrying out a revolutionary movementon such a basis. The action of Fiume, on the otherhand, indicated an ideal corporative and anti-individualistpolicy to Italians and, in particular, to those ex-servicemen who were afterwards the organisers of the Fascidi Combattimento and of the Fascist Syndicates. In1920 and in 192 I, while the other organisations werelosing ground, the Fascist organisations were acquiringgreater influence, particularly in the most progressiveindustrial and agricultural regions of northern Italy.New Fascist syndicates arose, and amongst the mostimportant were those of the small landowners and sharetenants in the Padana Valley, which formed one of thestrongest centres of resistance to the red organisations,in that region particularly aggressive.

§ S. The Fascist Party placed the syndical problemin the forefront of its programme. At the beginningN. 1 of 192 2 , at the Syndical Congress of Bologna,c~~l~~~ra_ the National Confederation of Syndical Cortion ~f porations (Confederazione Nazionale delle Cor-

CSyndlcal . porazioni Sindacali) was established in opposi-

orporanons, • h · C federati f L btion to t e various onre eranons 0 a our,previously existing and fighting under the banner ofvarious political parties. The National Confederationof Syndical Corporations was intended to be the centralorganisation of the five following Corporations:-


National Corporation of Industrial Labour (Corporazione Natsionale del Lauoro Industria/e);

National Corporation of Agricultural Labour (Corporazione N'azionale del Lauoro Agricolo);

National Corporation of Commerce (CorporazioneNazionale del Commercio);

National Corporation of the Middle and IntellectualClas~es (Corporazione Nazionale delle Classi Medieed Intelleltualt);

Seamen's Corporation (Corporazione della Gente diMare).

After the March on Rome in 1922 and the ascentof Fascism to power, the Syndical Associations dependenton it rapidly developed throughout the Kingdom. Inthe regime of political exclusiveness which Fascism inarriving at power had uncompromisingly created, theFascist Syndical Associations were able to strengthentheir organisation. The political tendencies of opposingparties no longer hindered their technical improvement.The problems to be faced were those resulting from theactual circumstances of the Italian economic situation.By the systematisation of the Syndical AssociationsFascism aims at carrying out the economic part of itsprogramme.

III. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FASCISTSYNDICALISM

§ I. Fascist Syndicalism has accepted some of theprinciples of syndicalism properly so called. Thus itOrganisation adopted the principle of syndical organisationof all the through trade syndicates, applying it, howProduct.ive ever, to all productive categories and not toCategories. the workers only. In so doing it did notstart from the socialistic principle of the struggle between capital and labour, as if the whole political worldwas divided into two great categories only, but recognised that other economic classes of the population haveby now become distinct and independent groups.


The employers, the employees, the professional men,the small shopkeepers all felt the need of organisingthemselves in order to avoid being supplanted and overwhelmed as isolated individuals by the modern socialmachine. The so-called class struggle, conceived asthe unavoidable conflict between the proletariat and thecapitalists, is probably only an episode in the phasesof that process of settling down whereby the societyof to-day is tending towards equilibrium. It is not socertain that there will be a struggle between the proletariat and the capitalist and the bourgeois as that therewill be an agitation amongst the various categories forthe most advantageous distribution of the aggregatequantity of welfare produced. The incompatibility ofthe old individualism with the collectively and sociallyutilitarian necessities of our time is evident, and everysystem of political organisation which aims at beingadequate for the times can hardly fail to take accountof this consideration.

§ 2. Fascist Syndicalism proposes to regulate thepolitical and economic life of the State through theOrganisation medium of occupational associations, strictlyo~ National limiting their sphere of influence to theLines. national field. The socialistic tendency toorganise the proletariats of different countries in opposition to other classes, is not admitted by Fascist Syndicalism, it being held that the revolution must take place,not internationally for the displacement and in theinterests of a single class, the proletariat, but to effecta different adjustment of the various occupational categories amongst the organs responsible for the policy ofa country.

International agreements are therefore regarded inthe Fascist conception as the exercise of a function thatmust be left entirely to the State. The State judges ofthe collective needs of its citizens, studies and regulatesthe possibilities of understandings with foreign countries,but does not permit that the interests of the country shouldbe subordinated to those of a class, or that it should


in any way lose direct control over them. FascistSyndicalism, in conformity with the tradition of Italianthought, bases itself on realistic ground. Rather thanadmit a priori a universal brotherhood unknown inpractice, it understands that a serious conception ofinternational peace can only be obtained between completely sovereiJ.?in States in which the various classes,in place of seeking aid from foreigners, endeavour byorganising themselves In the national field to increasetheir own returns, their own productivity and their ownmutual understanding.

§ 3. Fascist Syndicalism, in regard to the problem ofeconomic freedom of enterprise and to individual proThe Regime perty, has taken up an attitude contrary toof Property. that taken up by Socialism. The denial ofindividual freedom of economic enterprise, like theattribution of property to the State, is opposed by FascistSyndicalism. It aims at putting all individuals, fJuaproducers, in the position of choosing freely their owneconomic policy, and starts from the principle that everyone's property shall enjoy ample guarantees. On theother hand, the right of property has limitations in theFascist Regime, when it conflicts with the interests of thenational community, recognised and impersonated bythe State. Economic freedom of enterprise also is subordinated to restrictions of various kinds, whenever itinterferes with the public interest. This freedom ofinitiative is safeguarded and directed in the presentItalian legislation with quite special care, being regardedas "the most effective and valuable instrument in theinterests of the Nation." 1

The Labour Charter, asserting the principle of considering private initiative as fundamental, attributes tothe private organisation of production the importance ofa "function of national concern" and declares theorganiser of an enterprise "responsible to the State forthe direction given to production.U From these quitedeliberate assertions it seems already clear that the

1 Labour Charter, Declaration VII.

Occupational Associations

interests of the community have a fundamental importance in the policy of the State. The State does notassume the place of the organiser of an enterprise, nor takefrom him the control nor the possibility of directinghis own undertaking in the manner he deems best, butproposes to place the individual in the best conditionsfor organising that part of production which depends onhimself. It is precisely in exchange for the guaranteewhich it gives that the State demands a productive useof that right. If private initiative languishes, or isexercised in such a way as not adequately to benefitthe community, or even to damage it, then the Stateintervenes and takes the place of the individual. Thisattitude discloses a collectivist or rather a corporativetendency on the part of the State,' in so far as the activesupervision of the economic life of the country is entrusted to its control. The intervention of the State maybe exercised, under the present regime, without anyrequest from the interested parties, contrary to whathappens in the Liberal regimes, in which the Governmentis requested to intervene only in extreme cases, that is,when some groups of interests are imperilled, oftenirremediably.

The intervention of the State may sometimes be harmful in the sense of helping to perpetuate situations which,if left to private initiative, would have been resolvedmore rapidly and more decisively, and this is one of thestrongest objections that can be raised to the possibilityof intervention on the part of the State.

But it may be objected that, while the independentand violent solution of economic situations can be upheld and is useful in powerful economic organisms

. supplied with vast resources and local reserves, it is harmful where the national economy is dependent and issubject to internal and foreign political and financialfluctuations.

1 The words "corporations" and "ccrporativeness" were used by a happycoincidence by John Dewey to express the implications of. the movement ofdirect association which prevails in modern economic and eocial life,


IV. LEGALLY RECOGNISED ASSOCIATIONS ANDDE FACTO ASSOCIATIONS

§ I. Fascist legislation recognises certain OccupationalAssociations as associations officially representing a cate-Three gory of workers. Side by side with theseFunda- typis:.al associations it does not refuse to admitmRent~l·t the co-existence of de facto associations.

equlsl es T .. ffi . II .for Recog- he associations 0 cia y representing anition. category of producers are those which satisfycertain conditions regarding the number of membersand the political and moral qualities of the officersand members and consequently enjoy legal recognition.By producers are intended, here and in what follows,employers, workers, professional men and craftsmen,in whatever manner specialised and in an absolutelygeneral sense.

Occupational associations to be recognised must comply with the following conditions:-

I. That the employers (when employers' associationsare in question) who voluntarily become members employat least 10 per cent of the workers belonging to undertakings of the kind for which the association has beenformed within the area of operations of the association.That the workers (when workers' associations are inquestion) who voluntarily become members represent atleast 10 per cent of the workers of the category forwhich the association has been formed within the areaof operations of the association. Evidently.in order thatlegal recognition should be granted to these associations,the legislature wished to ensure that every associationshould include within its ranks a minimum initialnumber of members sufficient to justify the privilegeof recognition;

2. That the objects which the associations set beforethemselves are to protect the economic and moral interests of their members, as well as to give assistance,instruction and moral and national education to themembers themselves. The. occupational associations,


therefore, according to the Italian syndical law, must notlimit themselves to the pursuit of those objects commonto every type of syndicate, but must also exercise a socialaction in the widest sense, directed, that is, to the qualitative improvement of their members;

3. That the officers of the association give a guaranteeof capacity, morality and of sound national faith, ofloyalty, that is, to the political principles of Fascism.

The syndical officer, in the corporative organisation,must obviously have very different qualities from thoseof the syndical organiser in syndicalism based on theopposition of classes. According to the intentions ofthe Italian legislature, the syndical officer must be theadministrator of the interests of an occupational class.Together with a rigid sense of moral honesty, he mustpossess a practical and specific competence in the problems entrusted to him. It is reserved to the State todetermine whether these requirements are satisfied,as the State must approve the nomination and electionof every officer. The qualities required for an organiserof syndicates based on the opposition of classes arequite different from those above described, the syndicalprinciple from which revolutionary syndicalism-thatis, the class struggle-starts being different. The attitude of hostility towards the class in power whichevery revolutionary syndical organiser takes up, requiresthat the officer of the syndicate should be a mobleader and a factious element, rather than a technical administrator of the interests of an occupationalcategory.

These three requisites are necessary conditions for thegranting by the State of legal recognition to occupationalassociations, but they are not sufficient. Besides beingconditional on the association's absolute compliance withthe requirements laid down by the law, recognition maybe withheld at the discretion of the State. For politicaland economic reasons the State reserves to itself the rightto grant or withhold recognition to occupational associations.


§ 2. The State delegates to every occupational association, which it recognises, functions of public, educationalPublic' and occupational interest. They, therefore,Status of serve to complete the work of the State byRecognised •• • divid I h kOccupa- assisting every In IVI ua W 0 wor s as a pro-tional ducer within the country. It is, accordingly,Associations. logical that, as through legal recognition theoccupational association enjoys all the advantages which'will be indicated shortly, it must conform to the politicalprinciples of the State of which it forms a part. Legalrecognition can be granted also to associations of professional men or craftsmen carrying on their work independently. The conception of workers is, therefore,extended to include also that special category of producers which represents the prototype of an individualactivi~y that Fascism seeks, not without originality, toorganise.

The associations to which legal recognition has beengranted become Public Bodies, not only in the field ofcommon law, but also in that of public law. In fact,these associations legally represent all the employers,workers, craftsmen and professional men of the categoryfor which they were formed within the limits of the areain which they operate. Their representation is generaland exclusive, that is, the individuals carrying on withinthe area the occupation of the class to which theybelong are represented by the association, whether theyare or are not members of the association itself. Thefact that the occupational associations are .considered asPublic Bodies results in extending their advantages tothe whole of the persons represented. The differenceof treatment between those who are regularly inscribedas members and those who are not so inscribed consistsin the fact that the latter are excluded from taking partin the election or in any other form of nomination of thesocial organs and from the various activities promotedby the association and, in like manner, from participationin any benevolent or educational activities speciallypromoted by the association.


§ 3. The legally recognised associations enjoy imPowers of portant privileges which assure to them a funLegally damental influence in the economic and politicalReco~ni~d life of the country and, at the same time, finanAssociations. cial independence.

(a) The legally recognised occupational associationshave a control over the economic life of the country,Stipulation inas.much as they regulate by means of colof Collective lective labour contracts and other agreementsLabour Con- between workers of different associations andtracts. between workers and employers, the demandand supply of labour, the remuneration of every categoryof workers and employers, and the standards accordingto which production is carried on. These associationshave, lastly, a right of direct intervention in labour andin all productive activity associated with labour from acollective point of view. The collective trade agreements which, as will be seen presently, constitute the disciplinary factor in the corporative economy, are stipulatedonly by the legally recognised associations and are binding on all those who are represented by the syndicalassociation, whether members or not. The associationsof higher degree give in advance to the dependentassociations the authorisation to stipulate the collectivelabour contracts which are within their competence.Besides having the power the syndical associations havealso the duty to make collective agreements. Thisobligation is mentioned in Declaration XI of the LabourCharter, which says: "Occupational Associations are required to regulate by means of collective contracts thelabour relations existing between the various categoriesof employers of labour and of workers represented by·them."

The Labour Charter indicates the general lines ofpolicy which the relations between employers andlabourers in Italy must follow. The stipulation of collective contracts as an obligation of the occupationalassociations is not, accordingly, derived from any preciserule of law, but is an indication of a tendency which,


according to the policy of the Regime, must unquestionably be made general. Closely connected with the rightand the duty incumbent on the occupational associationsto stipulate collective contracts is the principle of syndical responsibility. It will be seen hereafter that thelaw punishes anyone who violates the collective labourcontracts. ~ut beyond the damage resulting from thenon-fulfilment of the rules of the agreement by an individual contracting party, there exists a range of infractions which affect social relations in consequence of theimportance of collective labour contracts in the new corporative law. This is the field to which syndical responsibility applies. When the agreement lays down thatthe syndical association is the guarantor of the agreement, the syndical association itself is answerable for thedamage resulting from non-fulfilment even on the partof individuals. If, however, there is no such explicitguarantee, the association is answerable for the damageresulting from non-fulfilment only so far as obligationswhich it assumed itself are concerned. In addition, it hasbeen noted that the occupational association must setaside, according to recent rules, 3 per cent of the sumsderived from syndical contributions as a guarantee for thefulfilment of obligations. For the non-fulfilment byindividuals belonging to the category the occupationalassociation is only answerable in so far as it has omittedto do all that was in its power to obtain the observanceof the agreement.

(b) Only the legally recognised associations have theright to nominate the representatives of the employersAppoint- or of the workers, as the case may be, on thement of organs -or councils on which such representa~epresefnhta- tion is contemplated by the laws and by theirnves 0 t e · I· Th· fvarious Pro- respective regu ations. e Importance 0duc.tive Cate- this right is politically considerable, since,genes. apart from the various institutions and bodieswhich require equal representation of employers andworkers, the Corporative Parliament is in great partformed by representativ.es of the various occupational

Occupational Associations 2, 5

associations, organised as will be described later. Theynominate the candidates, who must be approved by theFascist Grand Council, while the definite confirmation isgiven by the votes of the electoral body. The occupational associations become, therefore, in the new politicalorganisation, the basis of the Italian Parliamentary'system. The new Parliament, through the occupationalassociations, tends to become an organ in which technical competence is associated with the political problem,so that it is to be expected that a legislative body formedwith such a standard will, rather than devote itself topurely political questions, deal with problems of interestto the country, taking as basic the facts and the concreteinterests of the occupational categories.

(c) The legally recognised associations have the rightto levy an annual contribution on all the persons repre-

sented by them, whether members or not.~'7tr~~u- In view of the public character assumed bytions on the the recognised occupational associations andPersons d of the vast work that they carry out in theRepresente. economic field, it has been thought desirableto make obligatory the levy of the contribution on allindividuals carrying on any occupation or trade whatever. Without distinction all individuals interested inany branch of production in Italy derive benefit fromthe occupational associations. The associations laydown general principles regulating labour and occupational activities, fix minimum wages at rates less thanwhich no worker may be paid, and establish a disciplinewhich stabilises working conditions, enabling the employer to find systematised one of the questions which inthe past was most controversial, viz., that of labour. Thesyndical contributions serve to pay the expenses of maintenance of the associations themselves and they can alsobe allocated to a variety of other objects, as is explicitlylaid down by the Law of 1926. The associations haveindependent headquarters with a paid staff attached tothe secretariat, to the information office and to the economic research office. They carry out wide programmes

The Italian Corporative State

of work of social assistance and education in conformitywith the lines of policy the adoption of which is a condition of their recognition. Accordingly they contributetowards the maintenance of technical schools, to theO.N.B. (Young People's National Institute);' to theO.N.D. (Workers' Leisure Time National Institute)," tospecial unemployment funds, etc. A part of the fundsis, in accordance with the rules of the occupationalassociations themselves, set aside as a guarantee againstcases of non-fulfilment of collective agreements stipulatedby the associations. Another part of the contributionsis paid by the associations to the Ministry of Corporations in part repayment to the Ministry of the sumsspent in consequence of the new syndical organisation.

§ 4. The legally recognised syndical associations arecomposed exclusively of employers or exclusively ofProvincial workers. There is no legal recognition ofUnions,. mixed associations. Consequently the repre-Federations, sentation of employers and of workers isConfedera- I disti Th 1 ' d htions, Sec- a ways istmct. e emp oyers an t etions ~nd workers' associations may be brought toSyndicates, gether through central liaison organs havingofficers in common. To these organs, which take thename of Corporations and link the various productiveactivities of the country as members of one body, reference will be made later.

The legally recognised associations are called unitaryterritorial associations when they group the employersor the workers of a given occupational category in acertain territorial area.

Thus the provincial or interprovincial Union (or Federation), which embraces and represents locally all the

1 The Opera Nasdonale Balilla is a national institution which provides forthe physical and civic education of children between 6 and 14 years old. Itis supported not only by the Confederations, but also by the Fascist Pattyand by the direct contributions of members.

I The Opera Nasdonale Dopolauor» is a semi-official body created in 19~5

to promote the establishment, co-ordination and encouragement of institutionscalculated to uplift physically, intellectually and morally both intellectual andmanual workers in their leisure hears.


categories of employers or of workers within the territory of a province or of several adjoining provinces, isconsidered to be a unitary territorial association. Theemployers or workers are divided into sections withinthe unions according to the category of activity carriedon. These sections, which, in the case of the workers,are usually known as syndicates properly so called, arenot legally recognised, but are organs of the associationfor purposes of internal working.

All the sections formed for each category throughout the Kingdom are combined into national categoryFederations. It is not, therefore, as a rule, individualfirms that are members of the national category-Federations, but rather sections (or syndicates) of provincialunions. However, when the number of firms in acertain category belonging to a Union is so small asnot to allow the formation of a special section, or whenthe nature of the organisation does not allow of theformation of territorial associations (as is the case withthe Banks), the firms themselves become members of thenational category-Federation.

The highest legally recognised associations in thesyndical hierarchy, which bind together the variousterritorial associations and category-associations amongstpersons engaged in a certain branch of activity, take thename of Confederations. The functions of every Confederation, whether of employers, of workers or of professional men, are wide and have reference to the politicalas well as to the syndical aspect of the organisations of theirrespective categories. Thus the Confederation carrieson propaganda for the fundamental principles of FascistSyndicalism, endeavours to harmonise the interests ofthe various classes, settles disputes arising between theaffiliated syndical organisations and supervises the working of the organisation and of the dependent organisms.

These principles are constantly to be met in the rulesof every syndical association, but it is only in these moregeneral associations that political tendencies, going beyond strictly administrative tendencies,· find practical


application. The Confederations, which take decisionsin matters affecting the whole productive category, areallowed to go beyond questions of detail and to indicate from above those lines of policy which distinguishthe corporative organisation from other forms of organisation based on different political principles.

The occspational associations enjoying legal recognition may have as their sphere of influence a commune,several communes, one or more provinces or even thewhole nation. The collective trade agreements stipulated by these associations have general validity for thearea in which the associations which make them havejurisdiction.

Besides the territorial associations, the Federations andthe Confederations can be legally recognised directly.In this case the legal recognition contemplated by thelaw includes implicitly the right of the separate affiliatedV nions or Federations to recognition. This possibilitygranted by the legislature of the recognition not of asingle occupational association, but of a whole group ofoccupational associations linked together, has been theconstant policy of the corporative organisation.

In fact, the organisation of an association of higherdegree has brought under the control of corporativelegislation all the associations of lower degree subordinated to the association of higher degree, thus avoidingthe continual repetition of the act of recognition forevery association which was recognised.

The possibilities offered by corporative legislation tothe legally recognised occupational associations from thefinancial, economic and political points of view, are suchthat it was neither possible nor desirable to extend therecognition to more than one association. The rightswhich the State accords to the occupational associationsaffect the constitution of the State itself and are rightsof a public character. The sections which form part ofan association and have as their object to look after theorganisation of the members are, of course, consideredas interior administrative organs of the associations on


which they depend and have no special economic orpolitical competence, nor any direct influence on thesyndical associations of higher degree.

The sections of associations of workers generally takethe name of syndicates properly so called.

It should here be remarked that the syndicates, whichform the primary cell of the corporative organisation,are not legally recognised, unlike the syndical associations to which they are affiliated. The decision to limitlegal recognition to the provincial associations and todeny it to the syndicates and to the sections was takenrecently for the purpose of concentrating the territorialsyndical organisation in a limited number of associations,having a certain importance on account of the numberof the members, the amount of the contributions receivedand the authority of the officers. Before this provisionthousands of small syndicates, especially amongst theworkers, were legally recognised but were, in practice,functioning imperfectly.

As a result of recent reforms it has been decided torecognise the provincial unions as unitary territorialassociations even for the workers, and to consider thesyndicates as internal organs not legally recognised.

The advantages of this system are obvious and maybe summed up as follows:-

1. A convenient symmetry of system in the organisation of the workers amongst themselves and in relationto the corresponding organisations of the employers;greater facility in ascertaining the association to whichbelongs the right of representation; less complexity inthe practical distribution of categories;

2. Maximum simplicity in the structure of the localorganisation; co-ordination of duties and functions;elimination of legal machinery not corresponding to realneeds;

3. Simplification of internal services, particularly bythe elimination of the fulfilment of provisions of substance and of form (balance sheets, approvals, officers,erc.) with consequent economy in expenditure and

30 The Ita/ian Corporative State

greater facility of relations both within the local areaand between the outlying districts and the centre;

4. Complete renewal of the characteristics and functions of a corporate body.

§ 5. According to corporative legislation, occupationalassociations of employers, workers, craftsmen and proDe facto fessional men may exist de facto without theAssociations. grant of legal recognition by the State. Suchexistence is permitted to associations which are formedfor purposes of economic and social assistance or forperfecting the members in the exercise of their variousoccupations. The State entrusts to the legally recognised associations the protection of those occupationalinterests which may be considered to be of public importance. Occupational associations are, therefore, allowedwhich have study or education as their objects or thelegal and hygienic protection of their members, and soon. Nor is the possibility excluded that de facto associations should purSlle the same objects as the recognisedassociations; the law does not insist upon the existenceof only one occupational association, but confers uponit legally recognised public status and legal representation. From the practical point of view the possibilitythat there should be de facto associations, pursuing ~the

same aims as the recognised associations, is extremelylimited, since in face of a State like the CorporativeState, which seeks to concentrate and to unify, and ofthe fact that the protection of occupational interestshas been entrusted to the recognised association, thereare very few persons who will become members of ade facto association, which pursues the same aims asthe recognised association without enjoying the bestmeans of attaining them, that is, legal recognition. Noris it admissible that the same individual should becomea member of two syndical associations in the same tradeand pursuing' the same ends, in regard to the protectionof occupational interests, as the law explicitly lays down"that the members of legally recognised associationscannot, on pain of expulsion, be members at the same


time of defacto associations formed for the same syndicalobjects." This type of syndicate, which would be amere duplication of the legally recognised syndicate, hashad no practical development in Italy.

At the time of the formation of the first Fascist syndicates there also existed in Italy Socialist and Catholicsyndicates, which included amongst their members themajority of the organised workers. Between 1922 and1926 these syndicates continually lost ground in face ofthe Fascist occupational associations, which were beingorganised side by side with them throughout the Kingdom and particularly in the more progressive agricultural and industrial districts of the north. After theapproval in 1926 of the Law on Occupational Associations there was no longer logically any possibility ofthe co-existence of the Socialist and Catholic associations.

The obvious desire of the Legislature has been toconstruct a syndical organisation endowed with specialpowers which could offer to the masses, besides a nationalpolitical programme, exclusive advantages in the protection of occupational interests.

v. RULES OF OCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

§ I. In order that an occupational association may be:~gally recognised it is necessary that, besides fulfilling

C. . the requirements in matters of substance already

onstitutron · d· h ld I· h · Land Objects mentione , It s au comp y WIt certain lor-of Occupa- mal rules stated in the Law of 3 A pril andti~nal Associ-repeated in the Regulations for carrying outanons, that Law. These rules relate to the act ofconstitution and to the rules of the association. Assyndical associations come into existence through theexpression of the wish of those who intend to form them,the deed of constitution is necessary before any other document. In this the wish of the parties to form themselves into an association is declared. In cases in whichthe association that seeks to obtain legal recognition isalready constituted and working, the will of the members


to form themselves into an association is attested by itsexistence and by the documents that were compiled atthe time of its formation.

The Rules of the Association deal with its futureexistence, and accordingly determine its internal structure, its method of working and the work to be carriedout. The R.ules confirm the formation of the association, indicating: (I) what is the kind of activity pursuedby the members; (2) what is the area within whichthe association carries on its operations and whereprecisely are its headquarters. The Rules also includeinformation on the relations of dependence or of unionbetween the association and other territorial associationsand specify on what associations the one in questiondepends and what associations, if any, it controls. Fromthis it results that the association comes to representlegally in its area of operations all those who belong tothe category for the protection of whose interests itwas formed. The objects of the syndical associationare always carefully set out in the Rules. They varyaccording as it is an association of employers, of manualworkers or of intellectual workers. In every case theobjects include:-

I. The utilisation of the possibilities or the occupational capacities of the members by facilitating progressin industry, trade or transport in the case of employers,or by looking after the technical preparation and theconditions of labour in the case of workers;

2. The protection of the interests of. the class represented in relation to any aspect of syndical problems,such as relations with labour, fixing of new labouragreements, wage-scales, disputes between employers andworkers, and conciliation in individual disputes regarding the application of the collective labour contracts;

3. The guarantee, as far as may be possible, of thestability of employment and of wages, as well as of thework to be done, following the established rules on thesupply and demand for labour, rules laid down with theobject of dealing with th~ problems of unemployment;


4. The encouragement of various forms of providentbenefit, by protecting the persons represented in theadministrative and legal steps to be taken regardingaccident and social insurance and by promoting, if needbe, the formation of institutions of mutual insurance,thrift and assistance;

5. The representation of the category in questionin relation to the political and administrative authorities,both on occasions when the occupational category may bemaking agreements with such authorities, or in connectionwith the system in force for electoral representation.

These five points summarise on broad lines the objectswhich the occupational associations in the corporativeregime set before themselves. The higher the associations are in degree and the wider the area they embrace,affecting entire productive classes, the more general theobjects indicated in the rules become and the less theyare concerned with the particular interests of an occupational group or of a small local association. If oneconsiders the rules of the National Confederations, itis clear how the interests of an entire productivecategory enter into and harmonise with those of thewhole Nation, and how the conception of general utilityreplaces, as a result of the enlargement of the aim, thatof benefit for the individual or for the group.

"rhus, for example, in the rules of the National Fascist Confederation of Farmers (Confederazione NazionaleFascista degli Agricoltori) are found, not single ruleslaid down with the object of regulating a group oflandowners in a particular district, but the lines ofpolicy which inspire the Italian corporative regime inagreement with the general tendencies of modern thoughtin regard to the organisation of production. In therules of this Confederation, Chapter I, Article I) onereads, for example, that "the Confederation considersproperty, not only as the absolute dominion of personsover things, but also as a social function, and agricultural production, not only as a source of wealth, but alsoas a duty towards the nation." It "proposes always to


inspire its own efforts and those of the workers on conceptions of collaboration."

§ 2. Admission to membership is subordinated tocertain conditions regarding the applicant as a privateAdmission to individual and as a participant in the newMembership. organisation. As a private individual, theconditions are that he must be over 1 8 years old andof good moral and political conduct from the nationalpoint of view. As participant in the new organisation,the applicant must carryon the trade or occupationregulated by the syndical association to which he wishesto belong and must fulfil the special conditions that thelaw lays down for membership of every separate association. An applicant cannot be admitted to membership,(I) if he belongs to a de facto association formed for thesame class with the r\~)e objects, or (2) if he has beenexpelled from other ~').;Ciical associations.

Besides individuals, Companies legally formed according to the rules of tt\~ Commercial Code and othercorporate bodies of Italian nationality may also becomemembers of syndical associations, provided always thattheir managers and administ\ators have the same moraland political qualifications as"..are required in the caseof individuals who become mem'ers. Foreigners whohave resided in Italy for at least. ~n years may becomemembers of occupational associations, but will not havethe right to be nominated or elected, to any office orcharge. ~,

The various rules lay down that the ·application foradmission to membership shall be presented to thePresident's or Secretary's office and shall contain adeclaration that the applicant accepts the rules andobligations resulting from the laws relative, to the corporative system and in particular from the rules inforce in the association of which he wishes to becomea member.

When the applicant is a firm, a statement must begiven, setting out the persons who represent it, the natureof the industry carried on, the locality in which the

Occupational Associations 3S

establishments are situated, the plant they contain, thenumber of dependants, etc.

The approval of the application for admission tomembership is decided by the Directorate of the syndicalassociation. Should the application be rejected, appealmay be made to the President of the National Confederation and, in the last resort, to the Ministry ofCorporations. Approval of the application and the subsequent enrolment binds the member for four years.The obligations on the part of the member are renewedevery four years and the member cannot tender hisresignation until three months before the expiry of thefour-year period. The members of the syndical association are bound to observe the conditions of the collectivelabour contracts as stipulated by the syndical association or by the higher-ranking associations to which thesaid association is affiliated. They must also informthe syndical association of any disputes that may ariseconcerning labour relations. The members are obligedto request the intervention of the syndicate- in the eventof non-fulfilment by the other party.

§ 3. The syndical association is managed by threeorgans:-Organs of the (I) The Assembly, which is composed of allOccu~at~onal the members and: (a) deliberates on the moreASSOCIatIons. important questions regarding the work ofthe association itself; (b) approves or otherwise thefinancial statements and progress reports of the managers;(c) nominates the members of the Directorate, theSecretary and the President of the association; (d)fulfils other functions conferred upon it by the rulesor in consequence of special resolutions;

(2) The Directorate, which is composed of the President, the Secretary and a variable number of members,according to the terms of the rules of each association.While the Assembly meets at least once a year theDirectorate must meet at least six times a year, exceptwhen it is considered desirable to convene it morefrequently for questions of special importance. The


Directorate is the executive committee which gives effectto the resolutions of the Assembly and sees that the programme contained in the rules is duly carried out.

(3) The responsible representative in relation to thepolitical and administrative activities of the area ofoperations, to the associations and to third parties isthe Secretaryor President, who remains in office fortwo years and may be~ confirmed for a further period.A syndical association has not always both Presidentand Secretary. The' composition of the occupationalassociations in Italy has been gradually regulated, modifications being introduced from time to time. While theemployers' associations have usually elected a Presidentfrom amongst their members in the workers' syndicalassociations, it is the Secretary who holds the highestoffice and directs all the associative activity of themembers.

§ 4. The principle which inspires the choice of thedirecting bodies in the Italian syndical associations isElection of that of election. Various ministerial regulathe Syndical tions and the practice of recent times show theOfficers. tendency of the Government to entrust thenomination of the responsible representatives of thesyndical association to the choice of the members, provided always that they possess those requisites of moralityand national faith to which repeated reference has beenmade. Up to the present, it is true, the syndicalassociations have not had a precise policy in thismatter. The innovations introduced by the law are veryfar-reaching and it is difficult, having regard to the complexity of their new tasks, suitably to readapt associationswhich a little while ago did not exist or were organised ina syndical spirit different from the present spirit. Thereis no doubt, on the other hand, that the election ofthose who direct the occupational associations in Italymust be scrupulously maintained, if it is desired togive to the members of syndical associations faith inthe association to which they belong. Adhesion to anItalian syndical association. Involves, as has been seen,

Occupatiollal AssociatioNs 37

the principle that it is a voluntary act on the part of themember. But the tasks which are entrusted to suchassociation are so comprehensive that they largely includerights and powers entrusted under previous regimes topurely political bodies. It is mainly through thesyndical association that the Italian people exercises itspolitical rights. It is necessary, accordingly, that thefullest electoral guarantees should be granted in thechoice of the persons who manage the association, inorder to attain the desired end, that is, that the personsin charge, being aware of the nature of the tasks imposedupon them and freely chosen by the assembly, shallapply the instructions imparted to them and shall not,in exercising their functions, act as individuals completelyindependent of the association to which they belong.Logically the individuals chosen to preside over or toadminister occupational associations will represent a newtype of politician, who is really a political expert.

This type of administrator is characteristic of thepresent moment all the world over and is probably nothingel~e ~han a consequence of the decline of Parliamentanamsm.

§ 5. The rules lay down 1 precisely what are theassets which form the owned capital. The list of theseAssets of the assets is compiled when the.syndical associationSyndi~a~ starts working, and includes movable property,Associations. buildings and fixtures, sums set aside duringthe financial year until the moment of their allocation,and the guarantee fund which, as already seen, must beformed by every syndical association. The receiptscomprise the compulsory supplementary contributions,the special contributions due to the association, theinterest on the share capital, and lastly, the sums whichthe association receives as payment for services renderedto the members, such as donations, etc.

The expenditure of the syndical association is dividedinto compulsory and voluntary expenditure. Compul·sory expenses are those which concern, the existence

1 Article IS of the Regulations of 1 July 1926.


of the occupational association, that is, the general expenses for the upkeep and utilisation of the premises,for the stafl, etc., as well as the expenses of syndicalorganisation for the employment bureaux, for the bureauxof economic, social and moral and religious assistance,for the national education and technical instruction ofthe members.j The contributions to the G.N.D.,l to theMaternity and Child Welfare National Institute (Opera"Vazion ale per la Protezione della Matemitd edell' lnfanzia),the O.N.B.2 and to the National Workers' Aid Society(Patronato Nazionale), and the contributions for the formation of the guarantee fund are also considered as compulsory expenses.

§ 6. The working of the syndical association and itsdisciplinary unity are guaranteed by a dual system ofDisciplinary supervision exercised over every syndical associSupervision. ation by the associations of higher degree andby the association of lower degree over its members.Thus any member, who fails to fulfil the conditions ofthe collective labour contracts or to comply with therules which regulate the life of the syndical association,is liable to censure on the part of the association itself.This censure is a form of reprimand pronounced by theSecretary (or President) of the association in a personalletter to the member, and may relate to matters notstrictly falling within the competence of the association,but concerning a member's duties as citizen and worker.

The Directorate has the right to inflict as a punishment suspension for six months. This. sanction isapplicable in cases of particularly serious infringementson the part of the member, especially for repeatednon-observance of the conditions of the collective tradeagreements or of fundamental rules affecting the lifeof the association. Such suspension is notified inwriting to the member and a statement of the reasonsis appended. The member can appeal to the Presidentof the Confederation to which the association to which

1 Opera Nasdonale Dopolasooro, see P: 26.aOpera Na'XJonalt Balilla, see P: 26.


he belongs is affiliated. The third and last means ofpunishment at the disposal of an association is expulsion.This sentence is pronounced in cases of very serious insubordination, usually accompanied by obvious defect ofnational or moral sentiment. The sentence of expulsionis proposed by the Directorate of the syndical associationto which the member belongs to the association ofhigher degree. Even against this sentence the membermay appeal to the President of the latter association and,in the last instance, to the Ministry of Corporations.

Besides this system of supervision, inherent in thesyndical hierarchy, the State reserves to itself the possibility of directly controlling the working of theassociations by means of various kinds of supervision.The State has the right to refuse to approve or to cancelthe appointment of the officers of the association whenthey are wanting in the requisites laid down for suchpersons or of those who, during the exercise of theirfunctions, have showed themselves unworthy to holdthe charge entrusted to them. Through the Ministryof Corporations, the State exercises supervision overall the operations of the administrative bodies of theassociations working in two or more provinces and,through the Provincial Administrative Council (GiuntaProuinciale Amministrativa),l it exercises supervision overall the associations operating in a province.

Such supervision relates to every act affecting the sharecapital and, in like madner, all expenditure to be metunder the budget or the receipts of the association for aconsiderable length of time and, in general, every act whichindicates the policy of the association itself, as for examplethe regulations and the scale of salaries of the staff.

The last and most radical method of control whichthe State can exercise over the occupational associationslies in its right to dissolve the Council of Administrationand to nominate a Government Commissioner in its stead.

1 A kind of Council formed in each province for the decision of questionsrelating to administration.

I

CHAPTER II

THE COLI~ECTIVE CONTRACTS~I ,

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLECTIVE CONTRACfS

§ I. Combinations between workers have arisen owingto the felt need of organisations to co-ordinate and reguThe Collec- late the workers' services and so to act as ative Contract counterpoise to one or more large employersas a means of fIb Th k·· s: •

hI· hi 0 a our. e wor er IS, In tact, In anesta IS lug • c · . . · I· h IEconomic inrerior posItIon In re anon to t e emp oyerRelations. on account of the high marginal utility to himof his rate of remuneration. In other words, while theemployer owns or controls capital, the worker has none;the employer can wait, the worker cannot; unemployedcapital is saved, but a workless day is a lost day for theworker. Hence the syndicates and trade unions cameinto existence in order to regulate the labour supply ina given trade by imposing rules of general utility on alltheir members and by making agreements with the employers known as Collective Contracts.

While the position of the worker generally appears tobe much the weaker as compared with that of theemployer, there are special cases in which the employerfinds himself faced by workers' coalitions of a monopolistic order which are so strong that frequently he isforced to submit to them. In either sense, the collectivecontract ensures greater stability in the economic relationsbetween the parties'. The success of collective contractsat the present time is, indeed, due to the fact that theyconcern complete occupational categories and stabiliseconditions of labour and production for a specified period.This form of stabilisation is as much to be desired as itis difficult to obtain in the present unsettled state of themarket,

+0

The Collective Contracts

A distinguishing note of the present phase of economiclife is the tendency of individuals with commoninterests to form associations, and at the same time, sideby side with private interests, collective or rather groupinterests arise. Individual contracts concluded in accordance with the Civil Code govern a purely individualrelationship. But outside the contract made betweentwo individuals lies a wide sphere of interests whichrequires to be regulated by a new juridical organisation.This organisation is concerned, not with individuals, butwith the various associations that represent them sofar as they are employed in the different branches ofproduction.

From this brief review it is clear that public settlementof collective contracts is of fundamental importance inthe history of labour relations, which are no longer considered as a series of personal relations between employersand workers, but as understandings between producingcategories, which exercise their influence on the nationaleconomic life, and therefore cannot stand outside Statecontrol.

§ 2. In order to ensure the protective purpose ofcollective contracts, it is essential that they should be inComprehen- the highest degree: (a) comprehensive; that is,siven.e~s and that they should include every incidental conStabll.lty as tracting party coming within the schemeessential . .Conditions of relations to which these contracts refer;in Collective (b) permanent; that is to say, when once settledContracts. they should be valid for a sufficiently longperiod, so that the labour conditions determined bythem shall be stabilised for that period.

It is indispensable that collective contracts should becomprehensive in order to secure both that the protectionafforded by them should extend to every worker, nomatter to what branch of production he may belong, andalso that the risk may be avoided of compromising thegeneral validity of the contract through the action of outsiders not bound by its rules, to the prejudice of thebenefits which it assures. Hence, in order to ensure the


absolutely comprehensive character of collective contracts, they must be compulsory, so that no contractingparty may escape the obligation.

Under the influence of the political factor of the classtrouble, the characteristic of stability is generally lackingin collective contracts when these are obtained solely asthe result of-coalitions of workers and manufacturers.Thus the rights of the stronger side, even if convertedinto law, can be maintained only so long as one of thecontracting parties is- so strong in relation to the otheras to be able to impose his will upon him.

§ 3. In order to realise the two conditions mentionedabove, it is essential that collective contracts should

come within the orbit of public law, essential,CollectiveContracts that is, that the State should intervene in theand State settlement of the con tracts, giving its fullIntervention authority to the rules contained in them andin the Law ki h bi di 11 h ·of 3 April, rna ~ng t em In lng on ate contracting1926 and in parties.previous The Italian law of 3 April 1926 organisesLegislation. individuals into their various trade or occu-pational categories, unifies the representation of thecategory interests and vests the syndical associationsrepresenting these interests with the status of institutio-wregulated by 'public law. Before the promulgatiori .. ,this law, Italian codes contained but few articles dfQlin~with labour relations and these few were limited t~):;definition of some of the conditions of labour hire. .L rrc

need for public regulation of labour contracts was indicated by various special laws dealing solely with privateemployment contracts and not with workmen's contractsin general. As many students of legal and social sciencehave remarked, the common weakness in all such speciallaws was that they took no account of the growing socialimportance of collective contracts or understandings, norof the associations of employers and workers interestedin arranging them. Collective contracts entered intoby syndical associations are now, according to the lawof 3 April 19'26, legally binding on all persons belonging

The Collective Contraas 43

to the category by them represented. The collectivecharacter proper to such contracts has changed itsmeaning at the present day in consequence of the law of3 April, that is to say,'

"a contract is no longer collective because it presupposes, eitherdirectly or through representation, a plurality of persons contracting on the one side, but because it protects, not a certain set ofseparate interests but the single interest of an entire group considered as a single entity, and expresses, not a sum of contractualpurposes on the part of one or both contracting parties, but thesingle will of each contracting party, to which the law has assignedthe duty of representing the collective interest."

In Italian law the collective character of the contractapplies not only to the worker, but also to the employer.

§ 4. Another special feature in collective contracts, asstipulated under the Fascist corporative regime, is theSubordina- subordinatio~of class ~nterests, represented bytion of the the contracting syndicates, to the generalinterest~ of interests of national production, in conformity~te;::~~Sto with the rules.1aid down in the La?our Charte:,the general The general Interests of production are obviinterests. of ously benefited by the possibility of peacefulProduction. agreements afforded by collective contracts,State recognised and State regulated. But it would berisky to affirm in general that it is possible to establisha priori in a collective contract precisely what are thegeneral interests of production. Not every form oftrade or professional representation, as has been seen inthe case of the syndical associations, succeeds in its task ofacting as the faithful mouthpiece of the members of itsparticular category. But even apart from difficulties ofthis nature it is clearly not easy-although admittingthe superior claims of the interests of production-tosteer the ship of national economy amid the rocks constituted by the interests of the various categories. It is theState in the end, with its indisputable right of decision,that must discover in these cases the ground of accord.

1 Paolo Greco, II C()1llratto colkc';evo di lavoro, p. 77. Rome, 1928.


The subordination of category interests to the higherinterests of production does not preclude the possibilityof conflicts between different groups engaged in theprocess of production. It would be a serious error toexpect the passage of the syndical law to have the effectof eliminating all conflict of interests. The aim of thelaw is to cause .. the contracting parties to achieve successin coming to an agreement when discussing the terms ofthe contract, having a clear knowledge of the limitswithin which the contract may be arranged.' Collectivecontracts and individual contracts have undoubtedly acommon origin in the interest of each party to bind theother; but the intervention of the State as arbiter and lawgiver differentiates the former class of contract from thelatter by transforming the interest from single individuals(the case of the individual contract) to all the individualsconnected with any particular industry as a whole.

The collective contract, as a result of this specialcharacteristic, assumes an important economic functioninasmuch as it determines the remuneration of certainfundamental factors of production and therefore in theend determines prices. It naturally follows that eachcategory of workers has a strong interest in the vicissitudes of the market, and prefers to intervene directlyby collaborating with the other classes rather than tobecome as it were frozen in a sterile antagonism. It isnow generally admitted that the attitude of employersdoes not by any means const.itute the only cause determining the conditions in a given industry.. An infinityof other causes influence these conditions, and no producer, certainly not the worker, can remain indifferentto the valuation of such causes. Collective regulationmay in many cases aid in bringing about an adjustmentof demand and supply with more rapidity and exactitude,especially in the matter of labour. A well-organisedsyndicate may be presumed to be better able to estimatethe supply of labour available through its members insearch of work, and adapt it in space and time to the

1 See Appendix c.

The Collective Contracts 4S

employers' demand to far greater advantage than canthe members themselves, acting as separate individuals.

§ 5. The Italian law, while assigning special importance and binding force to collective contracts, does notIndi 'd al deprive individual working arrangements ofRel~;ilo:s their contractual character. Individual cona.nd Collec- tracts are binding both on masters and men:~:~t~OnDefi_and ~re freely aIlO\~ed to exist by t~e labournition of the law In force, provided the regulations conCollective tained therein constitute for the worker anContract. improvement on the conditions fixed by collec-tive contracts, or deal with points not covered by them.The individual contract has therefore taken a newdirection in the sense that in Italy the workers' conditionsof life must not fall below the level which the collectivecontracts have made a common standard.

Professor Greco, to whose work reference has alreadybeen made, defines the collective contract as a "covenantwhereby two syndical associations, within the limits ofthe interests they represent, and in virtue of the powersassigned to them by law, establish regulations regardinglabour relations compulsory on all members of thecategories represented."

According to Guidi, the late Deputy, a collective labourcontract is an agreement made between an associationof workmen and an association of masters (or a singlemaster) as to the conditions to which individual labourcontracts, either already arranged or to be arranged bythe persons belonging to the categories represented bythe contracting parties, must conform.

II. THE SETTLEMENT OF COLLECTIVE CONTRACTS

§ I. Syndical associations conclude collective contractsp · ts as representatives of their particular categoryc~~~red by and for the protection of its interests, butCollective never for the defence of individuals, even whenContracts. the latter are members of the syndicate.They settle collective contracts in their own name so that.


their action as representatives is solely of their owncompetence, although the contract concerns all themembers represented by the syndicate, whether inscribedor not. With regard to territorial jurisdiction, collectivecontracts that are to operate in an area under the controlof a syndical association of lower rank must be arrangedby the latter. Higher-ranking associations direct andcontrol the subordinat., associations in the arrangementof labour conventions and may take the place of thelatter in cases specified by law and by statute.

The aim of collective contracts is to establish conditions regulating the relations between employers andworkers. These rules must be observed by the contracting syndicates, by their members, by personsemployed in the same craft, trade or occupation evenwhen not members and, generally speaking, by allpersons having the occupational status covered by therules.

This principle, for instance, applies to foreignersworking within the Kingdom in any craft, trade or occupation regulated by a collective contract. Collectivecontracts regulate all labour relations, with the exception of those connected with services of a private ordomestic character. .Labour relations already fixed bypublic authority are likewise excepted. This exceptionleaves unaltered the relations binding all workers andemployees in the service of the State, as also those ofpersons employed in public works regulated by specialcontracts.

Collective contracts may be arranged only by legallyrecognised syndical associations of employers, workers,artists and professional men. If the syndical associationsare not legally recognised, any collective contracts concluded by them are null and void. Defacto associationsand those not mentioned by the Act of 3 April 1926 areexcluded from the right of concluding collective contracts. In cases where no legally recognised syndicalassociation exists, the Labour Court must nominate atrustee by special decree, appointing him to conclude the

The Collective Contracts 47

agreement for the category concerned. Associationsof persons in the employ of the State, Province, Communes or Public Charitable Institutions are, as regardslegal recognition and the arrangement of collective contracts, subject to different rules.

§ 2. The contracting associations are under the obligation to do everything in their power to ensure the observResponsi- ance. of. t~e terms of their collective contractsbilityof by Individuals, whether members or nonOccu~at~onal members and are responsible for any non-ASSOCIatIons '. Iin the Event fulfilment only In so far as they have neg ectedof Non-ful- to carry out the above-mentioned obligation.filment. In effect, the duty of the associations towardstheir members is to exercise the controlling authorityconferred on them by the statutes. If a member shouldfail to fulfil his obligations, the association may takedirect action against him. If the person failing torespect the rules established by a collective contract isnot a member, although belonging to the categoryrepresented by the association, he may indirectly bebrought back to observance of the rules as aforesaid bythe various means at the disposal of the association, suchas protection of personal interest, friendly interventionand so on.

Further, when it is explicitly agreed that an association guarantees the fulfilment of a contract, it shall beresponsible for non-fulfilment on the part of those boundto observance thereof. Such guarantee is undertakenexclusively towards and in respect of another association and not by an occupational association towardsindividuals." Occupational associations are financiallyresponsible for the obligation assumed in connectionwith the collective contracts arranged by them, to theextent of their entire property. They must also setapart yearly 3 per cent of the syndical contributionsreceived in order to form a guarantee fund additionalto the general guarantee referred to on page 26.

§ 3. Fascist legislation is particularly concerned with1P. Greco, Ope cit., p. z59-


the content of collective contracts. The law of 3 AprilThe Sub- 1926 and the Labour Charter fix the chiefstance of points to be regulated by collective contracts;Collective in addition to the provisions embodying theContracts. substance of the law there is a series of explan-atory regulations for the purpose of giving it effect.Questions ofcubstance dealt with by law through theregulations concerning collective contracts are: (a) thoseconcerning the regulation of labour; (b) those relatingto the scale and methods of payment of workers; (c) thoseconcerning the aid to be given to workers when obligedon account of illness or for political reasons to stopworking.

Homogeneity in the direction and efficiency in theworking capacity of an enterprise are matters that cannot(a) Rules re- be left to the discre~ion of ind~viduals, sincel~ti~g to Dis- they concern the entire economic structure ofcipline. production. The Italian legislature expectsthe wo-ker to be an active collaborator in the enterpriseto which he belongs and claims that the penalties towhich he is liable in case of breach of discipline shall bemade clear. Special stress is laid on scrupulous andunswerving respect for the time-table.

The employer's chief duty is to pay his workers fortheir work. Collective contracts must lay down pro(b) Rules re- visions as follows: (I) regarding wages, thatlating to they shall be paid in the form most suited to~munera- the requirements of the worker and of thenon. enterprise (that is, at time-rates, piece-rates,etc.); (2) regarding the method of payment, whetherweekly, fortnightly, etc.; (3) regarding the weekly dayof rest and the annual holiday to which workers areentitled after uninterrupted service of more than oneyear; (4) regarding payment for overtime and nightwork, when the latter is not included in the regularperiodical shifts; (5) regarding compensation in cases ofdismissal through no fault of the worker. No compensation is due to a worker taken on for a trial period,but merely payment for the ...time he has actually worked.

The Collective Contraas 49

A clause in collective contracts makes assistance toworkers during illness compulsory; and the collective(c) Social contract remains in force so long as the absenceInsurance from work does not exceed a certain period ofand Benefits. time, to be fixed in each contract. The lawdecrees that employers and workers shall contribute, eachin a certain proportion, to the Provident Funds. Thelaw prescribes also that, whenever possible, collectivecontracts shall provide for the establishment of MutualSickness Funds for the benefit of workers during illness,the contributions being provided and administered byboth parties. Lastly, collective contracts must take intoaccount the fact that a call to arms for reasons other thanthe regular obligation of military service or a call to theservice of the Fascist Militia does not constitute goodgrounds for dismissal.

§ 4. In addition to these requisites, which are regardedas essential, the Italian law prescribes certain other purelyThe Form of formal requirem~nts: (a) An indication of thethe Collec- firms or categories of firms and workers contive Con- cerned; (b) an indication of the area to whichtract. the contract applies (in cases where this indication is lacking, the collective contract holds good forall employers and workers regularly represented by theassociations concerned); (c) an indication of the term forwhich the collective contract is made. Without definingthe maximum duration of such contracts, the law tendsto the exclusion of those arranged for indefinite periods.On the expiry of the term fixed for its duration, thecollective contract is considered as renewed for an equaltime period, unless notice of non-renewal has been givenby one of the contracting parties within the time prescribed in the contract or at least two months before thedate of its expiry.

§ 5. Italian law does not lay down any special rulesregarding the assent of associations to the conclusionAssent and of collective contracts. This matter is leftApproval. entirely to the statutes ofeach association whichmay prescribe that special deliberative bodies may

5° The Italian Corporative Stale

supervise or co-operate in the conclusion of such contracts. Failing any special provision to the contrary,the contract shall be considered as legitimately settledby the competent representatives of the association,and therefore by the President or Secretary. According to the law consent must be signified in writing,otherwise the contract is null and void. Collectivecontracts are public deeds, since the legal representativesof the association are acting in their public capacity. Itis compulsory for all parties, whether principals oraccessories, to have written contracts. It is equallynecessary to insure validity that the contract shall besigned by the legal representatives of the contractingassociations, or by persons provided by them with aspecial mandate.

§ 6. Italian legislation requires collective contracts tobe made public by (a) formal deposit and (b) publication.Deposit and Collective contracts, when executed, must bePublica.ion. deposited) within thirty days from the date ofexecution, at the local prefecture, if the contractingassociations are communal, district or provincial associations, and at the Ministry of Corporations, if they areregional, inter-regional or national. The law providesfor cases in which contracts may be filed after the expiryof thirty days, but this formality must in no case bedelayed more than sixty days. The contract may determine which of the contracting parties has the obligation to make the deposit, but if the contract containsno such provision the obligation is equally incumbenton both parties, with equal and joint responsibility.The text to be published must be an extract of thecontents, drawn ·up in agreement by the respectiveassociations. The text deposited for publication mustindicate:-

the date and place of settlement;the contracting associations and the representatives

appointed to arrange the contract;the enterprises and classes of worker to which the

contract refers;


the territorial area covered by the contract and itsduration;

the objects of the contract;the acceptances, authorisations or ratifications.When a collective contract requires the approval of

the competent authorities of the respective professionalassociations, the text must state that such approval hasbeen granted, and similarly with regard to previousauthorisation or ratification by the superior associations,when these sanctions are required by the statutes.

Since the authorities with which the collective contracts are deposited consent to their publication, it isnecessary that the rules contained therein shall be inaccordance with the laws in force regarding the protection of workers. Questions of conformity must besubmitted to the Labour Inspectorate and to the Ministryof Corporations by the Prefects, in the case of provincialcontracts and to the Labour Inspectorate only by theMinistry of Corporations, in the case of contracts whichare operative for two or more provinces.

The publication of contracts for communal, district orprovincial associations is made through the schedule ofofficial information issued by the provincial authorities;for regional, inter-regional or national associations it ismade through the Official Gazette of the Kingdom.Publication In:ay be refused in the case of contractswhich for reasons of substance or of form are inoperative.The parties concerned may appeal to the Labour Courtagainst such refusal to publish. Unpublished collectivecontracts have no force or value and are therefore nulland void. The above ruling of the Ministry of Corpora-.tions put an end to a dispute that had its origin in thefact that the Labour Court had declared unpublishedcollective contracts to be valid for the signatory partiesonly.

S2 The Italian Corporative State

III. WAGES UNDER THE COLLECTIVE CONTRACT

§ I. One of the most controversial points in the settlement of every labour contract is the question of wages.

. . On this subject Fascist legislation lays downConditions 1· · 1 d he same time aigoverning a genera prlnclp e an at t e same time givesWages under directions for its practical application. Thet~e Corpora- principle is formulated as follows: wages mustnve System. d () he norrnal recui fcorrespon to I t e norma requirements 0

life; (2) the possibilities of production; (3) the labouroutput. These abstract general conditions take economically concrete form through data showing "the conditions of production and of work, the situation of themoney market and the variations in the workers' standardof living." By this provision the Corporative State putsat the disposal of the organisations concerned withfixing wage-rates (namely, the syndicates, corporations,Labour Courts and other mediating bodies) differentseries of data which, "co-ordinated and compiled bythe Ministry of Corporations, supply the standard forharmonising the interests of the various categories andclasses one with the other and with the higher interestsof production" (Labour Charter, Declaration XIII).These series of data refer to:-

(a) The conditions of production, that is to say, theyconcern the general industrial trade (productive capacity,efficiency, scientific management, use of machinery,effects of tariff and customs protection, workers' employment, etc.) and the labour trend as regards wages inthe various regions and industries, unemployment, hoursof labour and overtime, the work of women and children,night-work, etc.;

(0) the state of the money market as determined, forinstance, by the fluctuations in the rates of exchange,credit movement, Stock Exchange quotations, etc.;

(c) the variations in the workers' standard of living, asobserved in the chief centres of the Kingdom, applyingso far as possible a uniform standard.

It is certainly no easy task to determine wage-rates

The Collective Contracts S3with the aid of the indications supplied by the LabourCharter and other laws of the Corporative State. Theseries of data referred to above have not been collectedcontinuously and at times there are gaps in the informationon points of essential importance, nor is it clearly statedhow these data should be handled. The Italian legislatorhowever, in drafting Declarations XII and XIII of theLabour Charter, seems to have been influenced by thecurrent theory of economic equilibrium. It is uncertaina priori whether the data available are sufficient to determine the unknown factors. A special service is now beingorganised at the Ministry of Corporations which will studyand work out all data necessary for determining rates ofwages. The practical working of this service will bethe best proof of its capacity to satisfy the purposes ofthe principles referred to above.

§ 2. Of the three general conditions governing thedetermination of wages under the corporative system,Normal Re- the first-namely, that wages must correspondquire?1e~ts to the normal requirements of life-seems to beof Llf~ ~n the most important.'determining Al h h 0 0 diffi I · hat iWages under t oug It IS 1 CU t to state Just w at IS

t~e Corpora- intended by the normal requirements of life,tive System. there is no doubt that this expression conveysthe idea of an ethical criterion and of an essentiallydynamic conception of wages. The pay of a workermust be such as to procure for him the necessary elementsin a standard of living suited to his condition. Thisconsideration must override all others which have regardto the possibilities of production and the labour return.The wages suited to the normal living requirements ofa worker must take into account the needs of the classto which he belongs, and should be based on a criterionof distributive justice, as a result of which each productivecategory is guaranteed the satisfaction of its own needsas compared with those of other categories. Wagesunder the corporative system do not therefore consider a

1 G. Arias, L'economia naxionale corporatioa, Libreria del Littorio, p. 98.Rome, 1930. .

54 The Ita/jaN Corporative State

minimum living wage; they should have a wider meaningand aim at raising gradually the workers' standards.

The wages of a category cannot remain fixed at avery low level when the movement of production isupwards and business is prosperous, just as it is impossiblefor wages to be kept at a high level when prices aredropping and business generally is falling off. Given aruling State that controls all the productive forces of thenation, the institution of a system for adjusting wagerates to the actual situation of the public economic lifenecessarily follows. Such a system renders the revisionof wages indispensable, whenever important changesoccur in national economy, while it serves to regulatewages during the temporary and passing changes of lessimportant movements.

Wage-rates under the corporative system do not meana decided leaning towards one or the other of the presenttendencies to high or low wages.

The recent lowering of wages in Italy is rather aconseqll·~nce of the economic depression that is affectingthe whole of the Western World than a deliberate attemptto adopt the low-wage as against the high-wage theoryfavoured in America.'

Wages have a tendency to be equal to the net productof labour, and they undoubtedly decide the degree ofspecialisation, energy and efficiency shown in the work.Leaving freedom of economic initiative unhampered, asis the tendency of the corporative regime, it would beabsurd to suggest as an ideal system the lowering ofwages in order to cut down prices. Such a method mayconsiderably assist in the stabilising process and serveto deflate prices, but its value is contingent on prevailingeconomic and social conditions.

The general criteria and statistical records indicatedby the Labour Charter for the determination of wagesare of a somewhat abstract value, and must not be considered as immutable general rules. The Labour Charterstates, in fact, Declaration XII, that "wages shall be

1 See the Table on Wages, Appendix B.

The Collective Contracts ssfixed without reference to any general rules and area matter for agreement between the parties to the collective contracts." The main concern of the Fascist legislator was to put the contracting parties on a footing ofabsolute equality, leaving employers and workers atliberty, within certain limits, to find a stage of equilibriumon which they believe it possible to stand for a certainperiod with mutual benefit.

§ 3. The above considerations apply equally to timeand to piece-work. Wages for time-work thus calculatedTime-Rates are considered, unless there is an explicit stateand Piece- ment to the contrary, as the minimum wageRates. below which labour may not be employedalthough, in fact, representing the wage correspondingto an average output. The time-rate is taken as the basisfor fixing the wages for piece-work; and the "diligentworkman of normal working capacity will be able toearn a minimum amount over and above the basic wage"(Labour Charter, Declaration XIV). In addition to theeconomic advantages of this system, the social advantagesare obvious when it is realised that it is applied to allforms of home-work, thus avoiding the evils of the sweating system, which, aiming at a minimum wage for amaximum working day, compels the worker to work verylong hours for wretched pay.

Harking back to the main factors in the problem asset out above, it may be stated generally that piece-workwages afford one of many examples of corporative policyin action. The State guarantees employers the disciplinenecessary for the purposes of production; at the same time,it provides for the material and social protection of acategory, such as that of piece-workers and home-workers,which it is very difficult to organise and protect. Thewages of many piece-workers and especially of all homeworkers will undoubtedly be raised by the above provisions, and in any case it is not fair that manufacturersshould receive an undue profit when already, by givingthe work out, they reap considerable benefit, even assuming parity of home and factory wages, in. the saving on


expenses for plant, taxes, administration, etc. Thesweating system evil, when it means a wage that forcesthe worker to a standard of living which is too low inrelation to the minimum requirements of civilised life,must be rooted out by force of law in the name of ahigher social interest, even though one category, in thiscase the employers, must temporarily submit to areduction of profits.

IV. COLLECTIVE CONTRACTS IN THEIR PRACTICALAPPLICATION IN ITALY

§ I. The labour contracts arranged in Italy duringthe last five years have contributed to the stabilisationNational, of labour conditions, both by their constantlyinter-Pro- increasing number and by the extension ofvpinci~l ~nld their local validity. Each syndical association

rOVlnCla . .Collective may arrange collective contracts that are validContracts. within the limits of its jurisdiction. Thus theNational Confederations of Employers and of Workersrespectively in a given branch of production can cometo an agreement in the settlement of national contractsthat are valid for the whole of the Kingdom. Interprovincial and provincial syndicates make contracts thatare valid within the limits of their territorial jurisdiction,and the same may be said for the minor trade andoccupational associations.'

The number of purely local contracts is much smallerthan that of national or provincial contracts." In anycase, local and provincial contracts having reference toa single enterprise, when the only one engaged in thatbranch of production in the area, are equally applicableto any similar enterprises that may be started later inthe same area. Naturally, the more extensive the district over which the contract is valid, the more generalare the conditions established thereby; thus, as a rule)national contracts fix general measures only, such as

1 See Tables on Collective Labour Contracts, Appendix B.I Bollettino del Laooro, 1929, pp. 118, 397, 650 et seq.


the rules for engagement and dismissal, disciplinarymeasures and mutual aid. Provincial or regional contracts may cover a yet wider field and contain morespecial clauses, fixing in general terms the rate of wages,of compensation, etc. The chief Italian industriesmetallurgical, textile, building, electrical, chemical, theatrical, banking, transport, etc.-have collective contractsof a general type, with rules regulating every aspect ofoccupational and professional relations.

§ 2. After what has been said above with regard tothe terms of collective contracts, there is but little toDetails add by way of explanation as to the way theshowing the contract works in practice.usual. rul~s The sphere of validity of a collective con-contained In • d· h · 1 hi h · dieach Collec- tract IS state In t e tit e, W IC In icatestive Con- whether it is national or provincial (in whichtract. case the province is named) and whether itapplies to a single enterprise only. The text of thecontract contains in the first place the rules for theengagement and the number and qualifications of thestaff, and generally indicates the names of the Employment Bureaux that engage the workers and a list ofthe papers they must present, when applying for work.Before dealing with the cardinal question of hours ofwork and wages, reference is as a rule made to the trialperiod which the worker must undergo before beingdefinitely engaged. Next follow provisions concerningthe number of working hours. All the contracts acceptthe principle of the eight-hour day for a week of six working days. This rule is subject to variation in the case ofwork that is not continuous, or when it is desired to leaveSaturday afternoon free. Provision is frequently made

.for compensation if it is necessary to make up forworktime lost through no fault of the employer. Thequestion of holidays is naturally connected with thequestion of working hours. The collective contractconsiders Sunday as a holiday, and gives a list of theother days in the year treated also as holidays; italso provides for compensation days to be given when


the requirements of the service necessitate working onregular holidays. Special rates of pay are allowed forsuch work, and also for overtime and night-work.

The collective contract fixes the duration of the annualpaid holiday and the classes of workers entitled thereto.As regards wages, the wider the district over which thecontract holds good, the less is its capacity for layingdown fixed rates. In the absence of such fixed rates,explicit reference is always made to local agreements inforce or to be arranged within a brief period. Wagesare paid in accordance with the usages customary ineach enterprise, but as a rule they are paid weeklyor fortnightly to workmen, and monthly to other employees. Provision is also made for advances payable before the date on which the wages are due. Partof the wage is frequently kept back, either to coversureties required from the worker or as a contributionto the various insurance funds that are compulsory bylaw. When a firm has recourse to piece-work side byside with ordinary time-work, special rules are laiddown for fixing the rates of pay. If, upon the basis ofthese rules, the pay fails to reach the limits prescribedby law, provision is made whereby representatives ofthe workers' association take up the matter with theemployers' association. Special clauses provide thatthere shall be no infringement of dependants' rights onthe cession, re-organisation or transfer of an enterpriseand similarly in case of bankruptcy. Definite rulesfix the indemnities due to workers dismissed againsttheir will and for no fault of their own. Such indemnities are calculated in proportion to the wagesreceived and to length of service. It is specified that thebreach of a contract in consequence of a call to armsfor regular service entitles the worker to compensation,whereas a call to arms for emergency service or in theFascist Militia does not constitute a reason for breakinga contract as in this case the compensation due to theworker is settled apart.

The next clause in collective contracts concerns the


measures to be taken in case of sickness, indicating themaximum period during which sick workers have theright to retain their posts. Closely allied with this provision are the rules on the constitution of sicknessfunds and on the proportion in which employers andworkers shall contribute thereto. Then come the rulesto be followed by the victims of accidents during workinghours for the purpose of securing the necessary medicalcare and compensation.

A separate paragraph contains a series of rules concerning disciplinary measures, dealing with the responsibility of dependants, the ranking of employees, internalarrangements within the factories and all forms of controlon the part of superior authority. Absence from workand the means of justifying it are also treated in thisparagraph. Lastly, every collective contract includes alist of the acts prohibited during working hours andindicates the punishment for each infringement. Thepunishment varies from verbal or written warning tofines and suspension from work for a given period.The maximum punishment provided by the contract isinstant dismissal.

The contract as a rule concludes with a statementshowing its duration) date of expiry and the formalities forrenewal, which may be either understood or expressed.Each contract is signed by representatives appointed bythe contracting associations.

CHAPTER III

LABOUR COURTS

I. THE STATE AND LABOUR DISPUTES

§ I. THE settlement of labour disputes under theFascist Regime has special characteristics of homoOrdinary geneity and efficiency. Taking as startingJurisdiction point the fact that the State is the supremean~ tthe f regulator of all branches of the activities ofaSSlS ance 0 • · lb.Expert the country, all decisions on a our questions,Advisors. whether individual or collective, or connectedwith labour penal procedure in cases of strikes or lockouts, have been entrusted to organs of the regularcourts. The ordinary judges are provided with theassistance of expert advisors, when required by thenature of the dispute, but the ordinary jurisdictionalways forms the fundamental basis. Without theintroduction of any substantial changes in essentialfeatures, procedure is rendered as speedy as possible.The briefest possible interval should elapse between thebeginning of the dispute and its settlement.

§ 2. If reference is made to the laws that deal withthe Labour Courts in Italy and to the procedure followedCompulsory by the j~dg.es, .it is found that th~ State doesIntervention not remain Indifferent to the conflicts betweenof the State. capital and labour, nor does it regard them asmerely private issues. The Fascist State, which considers the national economy as something to be safeguarded and the protection of labour as a social duty,while at the same time guaranteeing within certainlimits the private organisation of production, could notleave untouched the settlement of disputes in so delicatea matter.

60

Labour Courts 61

Worthy of note is the opinion on labour disputesexpressed by Alfredo Rocco.' He declares that legislation on the subject is undergoing the same evolutionas did legislation prohibiting self-defence in the past.Within the development of States various precedentsfor this policy are to be found. The primitive State,for instance, found considerable difficulties in puttinga check on violence as a means of self-defence. Thestrength and full efficiency of the State legal institutions were attained only when the public administration of justice was substituted for individual or groupself-defence. The Middle Ages show instances ofpersonal and family vengeance and consequential actsof self-defence without any codified organisation. Subsequently, the first rudimentary rules of law wereapplied to the duel, which may be considered in its established form as a legal settlement of the self-defencequestion.

By way of the compulsory intervention of the Government, the imposition of a judgment on the parties andthe creation of a fixed jurisprudence, the present development of the law is reached.

Thus there seems to be no reason why to the economicinterests of the citizens' occupational categories thesame juridical form of settlement should not be applied.

II. HISTORICAL PRECEDENT AND INSTANCES OFCOMPARABLE LEGISLATION

§ I. France provides the earliest example of a LabourCourt in the first Conseil des prud'hommes, established inFrance. 1806 in connection with the silk industry.Conseil de! These Councils, which rapidly spread inprud'hommes. French industrial towns and in other European countries, were intended to settle or to solve minordisputes arising between employers and workers, workersand apprentices. Their competence was extended by

1 Alfredo Rocco, "The Transformation of the State." Rome, p. 336,La Yoce, 1929-

The Ita/ian Corporative State

later laws and the forms of procedure were altered onan equality basis, each of the parties having equalrepresentation.

The characteristic feature of the Conseil des prud'hommes is the preliminary attempt at conciliation.Should this attempt not prove successful, the dispute isthen decided-by a jury composed of an equal numberof employers and of workers, the two categories beingrepresented in turn in the presidency.

When the matter in dispute exceeds a certain fixedvalue appeals are brought before the Civil Tribunals.

The individualistic character of French labour legisThe lation is undergoing but slight changes to~ucheur judge from the more recent bills before ParliaBIll of 1927. mente Thus in 1927 Minister Loucheur pre-pared a bill on the compulsory settlement of disputes.

This bill is limited to the institution of a pure andsimple compulsory process of arbitration and does notreach the stage of the delivery of a binding judgment.Critics among the employers and extremist parties donot appear to be satisfied with this method of settlingdisputes, which is indecisive in character, inasmuch as,while granting a certain importance and possibility ofdevelopment to the syndical associations, it does notattribute to them the necessary legal recognition.

With some modifications these Conseils des prud'hommes were adopted by various European countries,including Belgium in 1859, Austria in 1869, Switzerland (Canton of Geneva) in 1882, and Italy in 1893.Germany maintained the Councils, established by France,in the provinces annexed after 187 I . In 1890 a generallaw enforced the adoption of these tribunals throughoutthe Empire.

§ 2. In Germany labour tribunals have a president,who should not be an employer of labour or a worker,Germany. and the jury consists of an odd number ofLabour members. According to the law of 28 Decem-Courts. ber 1926 the Labour Courts in Germany(ArlJeitsgerichte), having general competence as regards

Labour Courts

all disputes relating to labour questions (Arbeitssachen)with the exception of those relating to seamen, publicservants or a worker's invention, are divided into LabourCourts in the strict sense of the term (Arbeitsgerichte)Regional considered as of first instance, Regional LabourLabour Courts (Landesarbeitsgerichte) and Imperialf~;:~~~l Labour Courts (Reichsarbeitsgerichte), consideredLabour as final tribunals for appeals and revision.Courts. The procedure is in all cases very similarto that adopted in the Italian labour procedure inindividual cases.

This law has a procedural character and shows, ineffect, a tendency towards political innovations. By themanner in which it has been established, it would appearto favour an increase of syndical cohesion on the partof the employers and workers, as instanced, e.g., bythe absence of lawyers to defend the parties.

Labour questions are removed from the jurisdictionof the ordinary Courts and referred to the special LabourTribunals without regard to the importance of thesuit.

§ 3. English-speaking countries do not possess thisGreat kind of legislation. In 1824 Great BritainBritain. enacted the so-called "Arbitration Act," but itArbitration was shortlived owing to the complicated nature~~:·ncils of of the procedure. The "Councils of ConciliaConciliation tion" Act of I 867 authorised the institutionAct. of labour courts similar to those in France,but such courts were never in fact established.

Voluntary arbitration, i.e., arbitration spontaneouslyapplied for by the parties in collective disputes, hasWar reached its most characteristic development.Legislation. The numerous efforts made in order to renderarbitration compulsory through State intervention, endedin as many failures. Only during the world war didthe difficulties arising from the sudden increase in thecost of living and from the necessity for continuousworking in many industries induce the Government,the trade unions and the industrialists to' favour com-


pulsory arbitration and, in certain basic industries, toinflict penalties for abandoning work. Notwithstanding these measures the number of strikes and lockoutsconstantly increased in England after the war and theeffort made to bring about a permanent improvement inthe relations between employers and workers does notappear to have been particularly successful.

The acceptance of compulsory arbitration in labourdisputes on the part of the English people has metAttitude of and still meets with considerable obstacles.the British The experience of recent years shows: (a)Public. that the settlement of disputes is all the moresatisfactory when it is spontaneously requested by theparties themselves without compulsory Government intervention; (b) that the conviction on the part of the workerthat he is a responsible element within the administration and control of industry constitutes a factor mostfavourable to the prospects of a settlement.'

§ 4. In the United States of America (Pennsylvania)an effort was made, through a legislative measureUnited States adopted in 188 3, to form a Labour. Court; thisof America. court was, however, never effectively estabConciliation lished and the law was repealed ten yearsCourts. later. There are at present in the UnitedStates a few conciliation courts for dealing with minordisputes. They differ from every kind of EuropeanLabour Court, inasmuch as neither the employers oflabour nor the workers have any representation amongstthe judges. The judge is not elected by the twoparties, but is chosen by the Chief Justice. The subjectmatter of the dispute may also lie outside the pure labourfield. .

In the United States the Central Government or theGovernment of the individual states has been chieflyinterested in acting as mediator in conflicts arisingbetween employers of labour and workers in the railwayindustries and, during the war, in certain basic industries.

1 Commons and Andrews, Principles of Labour Legislation, P: 146. NewYork, Harpers, 1927.

Labour Courts

More rarely there has been recourse to voluntary arbitraVoluntary tion or to compulsory investigation in orderand Com- to ascertain the true grounds of the dispute.puls~ry. Compulsory Government arbitration is not reArbitration. garded with favour by the organised workers'of the United States, where the Unions consist mainlyof specialised workers. These workers represent a realforce in negotiations with the industrialists and frequently succeed in obtaining from them favourableworking conditions. But politically they have scantyelectoral power and it would be therefore very difficultfor them to have any influence on governmental decisionsin cases of compulsory arbitration. At the same timethe organised workers do not wish to run the risk of acourt decision when they are able to maintain theeconomic successes they have already secured. Employers can in a number of ways control the workers'policy and thus avoid recourse to a system connectedwith the risk of a vote. The only class that mightderive benefit from this situation would be the nonspecialised workers, but they have little or no weightamong the working masses of the United States. Thusinstances where arbitration courts have given a compulsory award to the parties are very rare. Wheneverthere has been a tendency towards the adoption of thesecourts, the interested parties have endeavoured to avoidthis danger by every means in their power, and moreespecially by insisting on the unconstitutional characterof the measure according to Article 13 of the AmericanPresent-day Constitution. Notwithstanding this opposiTendencies. tion, which up to the present has always beensuccessful, it cannot but be noticed, if American legislation is carefully examined, that it seems to be tendingtowards compulsory arbitration. The various stages inthis process are: (I) compulsory investigation; (2) compulsory compliance with the decisions accepted by bothparties; (3) prohibition of any sudden change in theconditions agreed upon; (4) prohibition of sudden strikesand lockouts. The experiment made in the state of


Kansas is particularly worthy of attention. This state,in 1920, instituted compulsory arbitration, establishingfor the purpose a Court of Industrial Relations, composedThe Kansas of three judges appointed by the GovernorExperiment. for a period of three years. Many industries,considered as of public importance, were submitted toGovernment supervision "for the purpose of preservingthe public peace, protecting the public health, preventingindustrial strife, disorder and waste, and securingregular and orderly conduct of the business directlyaffecting the living conditions of the people." 1

This Court expressly recognised the right of collectivebargaining, but strikes, boycotting and other forms ofviolent action on the part of the workers were prohibited, just as the court had the right to control anytendency on the part of the employers of labour toreduce or interrupt work.

The objections raised by the employers and workersagainst these courts were numerous. From 1923 to1925 several judgments of the Supreme Court of theUnited States declared these courts unconstitutionaland they were abolished.

§ 5. As regards Russia a distinction must be madeRussia. between legislation in force during the periodVoluntary of the so-called war Communism and that of aArbitration. more conciliatory order initiated in 192 2 •

Article 168 of the Labour Code is thus worded:-

All cases of infraction of labour legislation and all disputesrelating to the employment of wage-earners shall .be dealt with,when compulsion is required, by the Labour Tribunals and, whenconciliation, by the Commissions on labour disputes, by the Conciliation Chambers and by the Arbitration Courts, organised ona basis of equal representation.

There are to be found instances of: (I) infraction ofThe various the Labour Code and of collective labourAdj~dicatingcontracts, and (2) civil disputes relating to theBodIes. application, stipulation and interpretation of alabour contract. Cases falling under the first category

1 Commons and Andre~8, Ope cit., P: 185.

Labour Courts

are judged by the People's Courts in special sittings inwhich a representative of the Labour Commissariat anda representative of the syndical organisations participate,under the direction of the President of the Court. Casesunder the second category are judged by the Commissions on Disputes, the Conciliation Chambers and theArbitration Courts, the respective regulations of whichdate back as far as 29 August 1928. "These organs forthe judicial settlement of labour disputes are:-

I. Commissions constituted on a basis of equalrepresentation in each factory or establishment, composed of employers' and workers' representatives.These Commissions may fix fresh conditions of labour.Their competence is compulsorily laid down in regardto certain questions, while in respect to others theworker is free to choose between the Commission andthe People's Court sitting as a Labour Court;

II. Conciliation Chambers constituted within thePeople's Labour Commissariats as local labour organs.These deal with cases where an agreement has notbeen reached through the Commissions having equalrepresentation and with certain disputes concerningcollective contracts;

III. Arbitration Courts formed at the request ofone of the parties within the labour organs of theConciliation Chambers. They consist of one representative of each of the parties and of an arbitratorchosen by common accord. The decisions of thesecourts are final;

IV. Labour Sessions of the People's Courts, whichexamine disputes arising through some violation ofthe labour Jaws or in connection with the clauses ofa collective or individual contract. The decisions ofthese Sessions are open to appeal and to reference tothe Court of Cassation.Recourse to compulsory arbitration is made in the

Compulsory following cases only: (a) when in a businessArbitration. enterprise the two parties do not agree on theappointment of the super-arbitrator; (b)· when a dis-

68 The Ita/ian Corporative Stale

pute arises in a small industry where there is no collective contract; (c) when the dispute is prejudicial to theeconomic interests of the State.

III. SET1~LEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL LABOUR DISPUTESIN ITALY

§ I. Prior-co I October 1928 individual labour disputes 1 in Italy were settled by Boards of Arbitrators(Probiviri) or Arbitration Commissions for cases arising inprivate employment, etc, As from I October 1928 allquestions of an individual character were referred to theordinary Italianjurisdiction, i.e., to the Pretors and Courts.The Pretors deal with cases involving sums ranging fromI to 5,000 liras, whereas where a higher sum is in question, competence lies with the Courts. Both the Pretorsand the Courts, when sitting to decide individual disputes, are generally assisted by two lay experts on labourComposition questions, one belonging ,to the ~mployers'of the and the other to the workers categories respectadju~icating ively. These experts are chosen from personsBodles • ·b d · 1 l' h d d. Insert e on a specta pane, Wit ue regarto the various specialised types of trade and industryexisting in each province. The assistance of the twoexperts is not absolutely indispensable unless the partiesat the first hearing make specific request, and designatepersons chosen by common agreement from those possessing the necessary qualifications to hold office. Thejudge is not obliged to choose the experts requested bythe parties, but cannot refuse the assistance of two ofthem unless the experts, for reasons foreseen by the law,are unable to act. Individual disputes may as a rulebe settled by arbitrators chosen by common agreementbetween the parties according to the rules laid down inthe Italian Code of Civil Procedure. The possibility of

1 Professor Jaeger defines an "individual dispute" as one that can be settledb~ a judgment or ~Y ~n indi~idual contract. Thus an individual disputeexists when the parties In conflict are the same as those that may be partiesin an individual contract.

Labour Courts

arbitration is excluded in the case of individual disputesarising from the application of a collective contract.Such cases may not be removed from the competence ofthe judicial authority and all clauses contained in collective labour contracts and equivalent rules that contravenethis principle are null and void.

The labour judge (Pretor or Court), notwithstandingthe special competence on each particular question conMethod of ferred by the assistance of the experts, remainsbrin.ging an within the orbit of civil jurisdiction when dealAction. ing with individual disputes concerning labourrelations. The action based on the non-fulfilment of acollective labour contract must, before it is submitted toa decision, be preceded by a declaration setting out thefacts of the non-fulfilment in cause, addressed to thelegally recognised association of the category to whichthe plaintiff belongs, even if the party is not an effectivemember of such association. The association must alsointerpose its good offices in order to reach agreementthrough the legally recognised association to which thedefendant would be assigned even if he is not a member.If agreement is not reached after fifteen days from thedispatch of the declaration, the interested party maypropose that the action be submitted for judgment. Ifthe individual action is dependent upon, or in any wayconnected with a collective suit in respect to which adecision is to be delivered by the Labour Court, theindividual action is subordinated to such judgment.

The parties may appear personally or may appoint arepresentative. Representation, including the power ofThe Parties settling the dispute, is not subject to any specialin the Case. formality. In order to institute proceedings,it is sufficient to submit a demand for appeal, whichshall include the names of the parties, their addresses,the reasons for action and a statement of the case. ThePretor or the President of the Court fixes the date whenthe parties shall appear for the hearing of the case.Copies of the appeal containing this information areimmediately sent, officially, to the interested parties.


At the first hearing, besides the declaration of acceptance or of rejection on the part of the defendant anddeclaration of persistence in the demand or of withdrawal on the part of the plaintiff, questions of competence, procedure and all other preliminary issues aresettled. These points, if not raised at the first hearing,may not be brought up again by the parties.

The Pretotcr Court must, first of all, attempt to inducethe parties to come to an amicable settlement. In anyAttempts to case when the association of employers or ofreach agreed workers belongs to federations or confederaSettlement. tions or is connected by central liaison organs(i.e., the so-called Corporations), judicial action may beinstituted only when the effort to arrive at an amicablesettlement has been made and failed. During theproceedings steps to reach agreement must be takenwhenever the opportunity arises. When all chance ofreaching agreement has failed, the Pretor or the President may, if the' parties so request, at once begin thediscussion of the case or else adjourn the case for aperiod not exceeding ten days. At the hearing thedocumentary evidence is called for, including the production of documents substantiating the claims of theparties. Whenever documentary evidence is not calledfor the case is decided on its merits. If the judgment is not immediately read in a public session, itmust be deposited within three days in the chancelleryso that the parties may take cognizance of it. Noadjournments are allowed unless more than one sitting isrequired. .

Appeal to the Labour Courts may be made in judgments where sums exceeding 2,000 liras are at issue.

The decisions of these courts may be annulled orrevoked according to the provisions of the Italian lawon this subject.' A request for revocation is alsoadmitted against executive sentences admitting an appealwhen no appeal has been made following an immediate

1 For the annulment of a decision see Code of Civil Procedure, Art. 519.

For revocation see same Code, Art. 494 et seq.

Labour Courts

proposal of the parties, provided always, however, thatthese sentences infringe a collective labour contractor are incompatible with an executive sentence deliveredby the labour magistrate, in accordance with the termsof Article 87 of the Royal Decree of I July 1926.

The experts in labour questions, who assist the judgesin their decisions on individual disputes, are inscribedThe Panel of on panels kept for the purpose in every CourtExperts. or Pretura. Every two years, on the adviceof the several occupational associations legally recognised, the Labour and Social Insurance Section of theProvincial Economic Councils appoints these expertadvisors. They are chosen from the categories of employers of labour and of workers according to the differenttypes of enterprises to be found in each province. Theexperts on the panel belonging to the employers' category must be equal in number to those belonging to theworkers' category. The panels of each court and Prelura are approved by decree of the First President ofthe Court of Appeal, after consultation with the President of the Labour Court. The panels are renewed,as regards one-third of the membership, every two years.No person who is not an Italian citizen, is less than25 years of age or cannot present the necessary guarantees of capacity and moral conduct, is eligible for inclusionon a panel. No expert advisor inscribed on a panel canbe called upon to act if he is in any way personallyinterested in the dispute.

The rules established for the legal regulation of theindividual labour law clearly show the Fascist tendency:General (a) to concentrate the delicate task of the adTendencies ministration of justice in a reduced number ofof these. organs; (b) to endeavour, on every occasion, toRegulations. bring about an agreement between the parties,thus emphasising the spirit of collaboration between thedifferent categories; (c) to pronounce judgment, whenever it is inevitable, with as little delay as possible.

§ 2. As regards the spirit of the new legislation, thetendencies peculiar to the corporative reforms enumer-


ated in the Labour Charter and in the various laws, which

N t h have already been mentioned, show a clearo es on t e · I h Th· L' • •

Practice and substantia co erence. e ururorrmty Infoll?wed in the rates of payment in relation to the workItalian Laws. done, the possibility of reaching agreementthrough an amicable settlement, the constant consideration of the higher interests of national production, areprinciples \V'hich are stressed consistently. In practicethe judgments do not always display this continuity.Often local customs or contractual conditions morefavourable to the worker have received more consideration than the observance of the laws above mentionedand consequently the application of these rules gives riseat times to contradictions and omissions. An explanation of this lack of uniformity may possibly be foundin the study of the gradual transformations which thelabour organs competent to give decisions have undergone in Italy. In the period of democratic and liberaltendencies in Italy all questions connected with industrial relations were handled by organs which consideredlabour disputes principally in their technical aspects.

H. . 1 The general interests of public economy andistorica h · f h SId kExplanation ~ e prestige 0 t e tate we~e se om ta en

of certain Into account, and never as being fundamentali~consisten- in the solution of the question. Even aftercies, the advent of Fascism and the enactment ofimportant provisions such as those of July 1926 andthe Labour Charter of April 1927, the sentences of theBoard of Arbitrators and of the Arbitration Commissionsshowed traces of a different mentality.

Hence, the reference of all decisions in labour mattersto the ordinary court, assisted by expert advisors, wasa logical provision. It is currently held, however, bystudents of the subject, that it is necessary to introducethrough further modifications a greater uniformity intothe complex of rules regulating labour relations, in orderto bring them into harmony with the general structureof the Corporative State.

The nature of this summary study does not justify

Labour Courts 73

the citation of every judgment delivered by the Italiancourts on labour questions and a reference to decisionsillustrating some point worthy of note or illustratinguniform tendencies will suffice for present purposes.

In the various decisions delivered between 1927 and1930 there is to be found a fluctuation in the estimationImportance of the customs peculiar to a locality or tradeof Local as compared with the law of the collectiveUsages. contract. Local custom, in fact, seems to risesuperior to the law (Central Commission, 2 February192 7 ; Central Commission, 2 July 1927) and even tocontracts and negotiations between the parties (Court ofCassation, znd Civil Section, 15 June 1928), wheneverit appears to be more favourable to the worker. Thistrend exemplifies the tendency of the judge to favourthe weaker party in a dispute. But the law as draftedcontemplates placing the employer and the workeron the same basis of equality both from the legal andfrom the economic standpoint. As it is the presentintention to establish the relations between capital andlabour on this new basic principle, it follows that it isnecessary that these relations should be regulated solelyby the law which specifically deals with this subject.

In this connection it should be noted that a decisionof the Labour Court of Bari (Bari Labour Court, 26June 1929) maintains unvaried the conditions establishedby law and confirmed by contract between the parties,even when they are in contrast with the prevailing custom. Similarly an agreement between the parties is rendered null and void when it is contrary to the above law(Court of Appeal of Naples, 13 May 1927). Furthermore, an agreement, provided it is not contradictory tothe terms of a law, overrides customs, however generaland constant these may be (Court of Catania, LabourSection, 29 December 1928.) .

Local custom, varying considerably from region toregion, has gradually become established in Italy. Thisvariation is harmful to the uniformity of industrial enterprises, especially when these constitute a .vast economic.


complex with activities diffused all over the Kingdom.Decisions, therefore, which involve conditions which donot strictly comply with the law in order to satisfy localcustoms, appear to be fully justified (Central Commission, I 9 February 1927). Local custom is consideredvalid in fixing conditions for a person employed in abranch offi~~ independent of the head company, in sofar as the custom is not incompatible with the law(Central Commission, I April 1927).

The relations of legal and economic equality as between employers and employed are clearly shown by theVariations in fact that one party cannot change the conditionsContractual of a contract without the consent of the other.Conditions. A change in conditions introduced without theconsent of the other party is tantamount to a breach ofthe contract, entailing a consequential right to propercompensation (Central Commission, 9 June 1927; Pretura of Udine, Labour Section, 2 May 1929). This isthe case when the transformation of a business involveschanges in the position of the workers.

Compensation for dismissal is a very delicate questionin matters of individual labour disputes. It is moreCompcnsa- easy that a dispute should arise in consequenceti~n ~or of the contentious attitude of one of the parDismissal. ties, particularly of the employee, than that itshould be avoided because of some legal provision, however explicitly formulated. On this subject sentencesare very numerous and varied and it would be impossibleeven to attempt to summarise them. .It is, however,interesting to note that the decisions of the courts haveprotected the position of the employee and sought toreduce the damage, deriving from unemployment. Thus,in the case of a contract for a specified period, an employeedismissed before the date specified has a right to compensation calculated on the basis of the degree of hisunemployment risk (Central Commission, 24 January192 7) . Furthermore, sudden dismissal is contemplatedonly in exceptionally serious cases. Lack of capacityon the part of an employee does not enter into this cate-

Labour Courts 75gory, but he retains the right to due notice and compensation (Central Commission, 3 January 1927), thoughnaturally this principle does not apply to probationers.Compensation granted by employers to employees ondismissal is a form of social assistance for which, however,the employee who gives notice on his own account is noteligible (Court of Cassation, znd Section, 21 December192 7).

The delicate point in the question of compensationfor dismissal lies in the evidence supplied in bad faithby employers and employees. The law fixes certainlimits, but it is left to the discretion of the judges toascertain whether the employer has placed the employeein such a position as to oblige him to leave, or whetherthe employee, although not rendering himself liable toa disciplinary measure such as immediate dismissal, hasin fact made it impossible for the employer to continueto utilise his services.

The employer is bound in the first place to pay overthe agreed retribution. Non-observance of this obligaI.e 1 tion renders the employer responsible for aO~~ation breach of contract and is equivalent to unjustto pay dismissal (Central Commission, 26 NovemberaRgre~db' I 926; Central Commission, 3 January I 92 7;

etri uuon. C 1C·· J )entra omrmssion, 14 anuary 1927 .The protection of the worker is the constant aim of

Italian corporative legislation, so much so that a contract of employment is considered as valid, in respectto the staff, even in the case of the bankruptcy of thefirm (Court of Padua, Labour Section, 23 January 1930).

In Italian legislation the rights of the workers havebeen always maintained as regards payment for overtime. In fact, payment for overtime is considered anindefeasible right, subject to the five years' prescription(Turin Court, Labour Section, 2 March 1929).Naturally, overtime work done by the directing staff,which is not bound to a specified schedule of workinghours, is not necessarily subject to compensation exceptin cases of express agreement (Court of Cassation, znd


Civil Section, 7 July 1930). It is generally held thatovertime work represents a certain benefit to the employer. If, however, this work is performed by theemployee at his own request and in his own exclusiveinterests, it is not subject to compensation (Pretura of

. Mede, Labour Section, I 2 March 1930).

IV. SETTLEMENT OF COLLECTIVE LABOUR DISPUTESIN ITALY

§ I. The Italian Labour Court (Magistratura dellavoro)is an organ of jurisdiction brought into being by thecorporative reform. As has already been seen, the syndical associations of employers of labour and of manualand intellectual workers are legally recognised by theState. They are the legal representatives, within theirown territorial areas, of all the employers and workersof the category they represent. They have the legalright to conclude collective labour contracts and toappear before the courts on behalf of all workers andemployers of labour. The Labour Court represents the·organ by which the State intervenes for the settlementof labour disputes whether relating to the observance ofthe agreement or of other existing rules, or whether tothe establishment of new labour conditions.'

The Labour Court is established as a special sectionof the Court of Appeal of the Kingdom and hence thereConstitution are in Italy sixteen Labour Courts correspond-of the ing in number to the courts. of appeal nowLabour existing. The Labour Court has five mem-Court. bers, a President of Section of the Court ofAppeal, two Councillors of the same Court and twomembers who are experts on problems of productionand labour. These experts are chosen from a specialpanel, formed for the purpose within each Court ofA ppeal. The method of establishing this panel is asdescribed below.

At the beginning of each year the President and the1 Rameri, Le AssicuraziQ1Z; Sociali, Vol. 2, 19~8, p. 46•

Labour Courts 77two Councillors, who are to sit on the special section ofthe Court of Appeal, are appointed by the same RoyalDecree which designates each section of the Court ofAppeal. The first President of each Court of Appealwill appoint by decree the members of the panel, whowill be called upon to act on the special section in thecases to be debated during the legal year.

The Labour Court delivers judgment: (I) in ordinarycases arising out of disputes concerning collective labourC mp t n contracts whether referring (a) to collectiveolthe e e ce contracts already existing, (b) to the draftingLabour of new collective contracts, or (c) to the intro-Court. duction of modifications in existing collectivecontracts; (2) in cases of appeal in disputes concerningindividual labour contracts.

It is to be noted that for a dispute to be collectivethe fact that it concerns a collective contract and itsrules is not sufficient; it is necessary that the commoninterests of the persons belonging to the correspondingoccupational categories shall be affected.

The Labour Court is a tribunal of mixed characterinasmuch as, in addition to the technical judges (experts),Its Juridical it has ordinary judges in accordance with theCharacter. character and guarantees of the ordinary courts.Modern tendencies require specialised judges, inasmuchas the complexity of relations in law calls for specialtechnical knowledge, not always to be found in allmagistrates.

The presence of technical judges is required sometimesby the very nature of the case in dispute, in other casesby the call for a procedure more rapid than that customary.

The so-called special jurisdiction has been subject tomany criticisms and to much opposition. Particularobjections have been raised to the disadvantages due tothe vast field of jurisdiction and to the probability thatthe members, as compared with those of the ordinarycourts, will be less independent and their impartialityless unimpeachable.

The Italian solution, in the case of collective labour


disputes, tends to harmonise the necessity for a technicaland rapid decision with the guarantees of impartialityprovided by an ordinary tribunal. The Labour Courtis called upon to decide on questions of general interest.The principles followed in the application of the law inindividual disputes appear inadequate when applied tothe problems which come before the Labour Court,The principles followed in the procedure of the LabourCourt aim at expediting, as far as possible, the settlement of the dispute. The suspension or any chance ofdisturbance in productive activities must, in fact, beminimised as far as possible. Thus the parties mayappear in court themselves or be represented by anattorney, or they may obtain the assistance of a barristeror of technical advisors. Application for a judgmenton collective labour contracts is made by petition specifying: (a) the association which makes the application;(b) the association against which the application isdirected; (c) the motives and object of the application;(d) the deeds and documents on which the applicationis based. The petition is lodged with the chancelleryof the Court of Appeal.

The President of the Labour Court, within twentyfour hours of the receipt of the application, will fix theMethod of date of hearing. The petition may be lodgedbrin.ging an by the Public Prosecutor and in this case mustAction. specify the interested associations, the deedsand documents on which the application is based andthe conclusions of the Public Prosecutor, on the motivesand object of the dispute.

The procedure at the first hearing is that described onpage 70 and is the same as for individual controversies.

When the magistrate settles a dispute either entirelyor in part he pronounces a judgment. When the LabourCourt pronounces judgment on matters concerning newlabour conditions, the sentence is of a legislative character, inasmuch as it formulates the terms of new collective contracts. They do not constitute, in fact,veritable single labour contracts, but abstract and new

Labour Courts 79

juridical rules which become valid for all parties concerned. The judgment on collective relations affectsall preceding judgments relating to individual labourrelations which have become executive.

When the Labour Court decides on individual relations as an Appeal Court, such decision is valid onlyfor the parties directly concerned.

As regards the panels of experts, only Italian citizens,who have completed twenty-five years of age, are of thePanel of highest and most irreprehensible moral andExperts. political character and hold a University degreeor its equivalent, are eligible for inscription. As regards academic qualifications, exception may be made infavour of persons who are recognised as having specialcompetence in a particular field. Proposals for empanelling citizens are made to the competent centralcorporative organs by the Provincial Economic Councilsfor each province. The persons proposed are classifiedin groups or sub-groups, according to the several typesof business or industry carried on in the district servedby the tribunal. The First President of the Court ofA ppeal, upon receipt of the nominations, prepares thepanel of citizens appointed to function as expert advisors.This list is posted up at the offices of the Court of Appealand of the Prefectures of the district for a period offifteen days. Within this period each of the legallyrecognised associations may file a protest against thecomposition of the panel. Such protest is notified tothe interested parties and is adjudicated by the Courtof Appeal at a joint session in the Council Chamber."A ppeal to the Court of Cassation against the decisionof the Court of Appeal, on grounds of a violation of law,is allowed within a period of fifteen days.

The prescriptions of the law have in practice beenfollowed very scrupulously in the formation of the panels

1 The members of such joint session are the First President, the Presidentof the special section acting as a Labour Court and five Councillors of theCourt, two of whom must be attached to the Labour Court and three to theFirst Section, appointed by the First President. .


of expert advisors. These panels must, in fact, includethe names of the persons most capable of exercising thefunctions of expert judges. Thus the Court of Appeal 'decided that any protest against the formation of a panelof citizens called upon to act as expert advisors in theLabour Court is liable to examination, even if the appellant abandons the protest. This sentence, which is opento criticism~ from a purely legal standpoint, is inspiredby the consideration that the legitimacy of the panel isa question of public interest. The Court of Appeal,therefore, endeavoured to provide the syndical associations with such expert judges as in their opinion arethe most suitable for the purpose, independently of anyrenunciation of the appeal by the parties concerned.

Thus, the Court of Cassation, sitting in joint session,decided (sentence of 28 April 1928) that the protestagainst the formation of the panels of expert advisorsmight be made either for the exclusion of one or morepersons included in the panel, or against the admissionto the case of persons not included in the panel. Thisdecision was intended to secure that the panel shall be,as far as possible, sufficiently numerous and so constitutedas to ensure that the judges shall have the best and mostgenerally competent assistance.

The President of the Labour Court appoints the expertadvisors for each particular question, choosing them fromthe list formed by the First President. On request ofthe President of the Labour Court, this list may containone or more experts outside the sectional, but includedin the general roll. Expert advisors are entitled to anindemnity for each sitting of the court they attend.

Only legally recognised associations can take action indisputes arising out of collective labour relations, andParties in such associations have the syndical monopolythe Case. in cases of collective disputes. They represent, in fact, all the workers and the employers respectively, even if they are not actual members of the association. Consequently the de facto associations may not

1 Judgment of 30 December 1927.

Laoour Courts 81

take legal action on behalf of their respective categories,just as they may not stipulate collective labour contracts. If in any given district there exists a de factobut not a legally recognised association, a special trusteemust be appointed to act as legal representative of thecategory.'

When the magistrate of the Labour Court is calledupon to interpret collective contracts, he must follow theprinciples of the new legislation and take always intocareful consideration the interests of public utility and ofproduction in general, rather than follow the principlesby which he would be guided in applying the law to therelations between private individuals. In the formulation of new conditions of labour, the judge must harmonisethe interests of the workers with those of the employers,while at the same time taking due care to provide safeguards for the higher interests of production. Herethe judge is free from special rules of positive laws andformulates the new contract in the light of considerations of an economic character, being guided only byequity, i.e., "having due regard to the necessities ofindividual and social life, which have arisen in a givenhistorical period. These necessities, in practice, differfrom those that a law enacted in different circumstancesand with different precedents, could possibly have sanctioned." 2 This conception of equity is evidently inspired by practical, not to say pragrnatical, principles.To harmonise the interests of the employers with thoseof the workers is a most arduous task, requiring such aknowledge of economics as is seldom possessed by amagistrate. The true position of a business enterprise,the productivity of a worker, the contribution of thecapitalist or of the employer are difficult matters even foran experienced economist to define. The decision isnecessarily bound up with different contingencies, whichsometimes include political reasons as, for example,when in order to harmonise the dualism of the economic

1 D'Arnelio, Le Assicura'Zioni Sociali, Vol. I, ,1926, P: 4.I De Martinis, Le Assicurazion; Sociali, Vol. II, 1928, p. 62.

82 The Italian Corporative Stale

forces of capital and labour, according to the rules of thecorporative ethical and social doctrine, the State is placedover and above any class distinctions. When the Statestands over and above all rival classes and is consideredas a single and separate organism, varying its point ofview in accordance with the play of international economicforces, it is evident that the conflicts between one productive category and another arise with less frequencyand find their settlement with relative facility. In fact,the intervention of the Government excludes the possibility of any considerable advantage to a category inconflict. If a group of employers or of workers obtainssome special advantage it is not of long duration, andsubsists only for so long as it appears to be consonantwith the welfare of the country. Many disputes, whichmight have developed in a different historical atmosphere,have been settled at the very start, seeing that the lineswhich the arbitrator would have followed, given thegeneral economic conditions, were very clear.

§ 2. The legal structure of the Labour Court has onlyon a few occasions been put to the test. The legislativeConcrete work of the Court has been in general fore-Cases stalled by the stipulators of the new labourbrought contracts, nor, in present circumstances, is itbefore the probable that this court will be kept very busy.LabourCourt as a Sitting as an Appeal Court, the Labour CourtTribunal of has functioned on various occasions and willfirst probably function more often when deci-nstance. sions on individual disputes ·are taken in

accordance with corporative principles. By preferringlocal uses and customs, and the pre-existing contracts tothese principles, with a view to favouring the weakerparty, the character of the law that has been createdaccording to modern views becomes modified. However, in drafting the new codes, many gaps whichpractice has shown to exist in the rules for the legalsettlement of labour disputes, will be eliminated.

The precise reason why the Labour Court has onlyon a few occasions functioned as a court of first instance

Labour Courts

lies in the fact that its procedure makes it possible toarrive at a conciliation between the parties. This conciliation is all the more easily reached inasmuch as theparties are convinced that the State, as impartial arbitrator,will always endeavour to effect the settlement of thedispute by making an equitable apportionment to theparties.

Worthy of note, not only for its economic but also forits legal importance, is the judgment delivered on 19 JulyCase of the I 927 by the ROIne Labour Court. A disputeRice-weeders·arose between the landowners of the Po Valleyand the workers engaged in rice-weeding. The owners,represented by the National Fascist Confederation ofFarmers, wished to reduce the wages of the workers onthe rice-fields as arranged four months previously withthe National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates, representing the workers. The owners based their request onthe agricultural depression which had characterised thelater months and the consequent fall in the price of rice.They also asked that the reduction in wages should havea retrospective effect. The case appeared to be of specialinterest, not only for the question of reduction of wagesand the question of the date of its application, but alsofor other details of procedure. The questions to besettled were: (I) whether the collective labour contractsti pulated between the two associations representingfarmers and workers was legally valid, inasmuch as thecontract had not been stipulated and registered accordingto the rules required by law; (2) whether any action couldlie for the revision of collective contracts regulatingseasonal rather than continuous work.

The Labour Court decided: (a) that the contractstipulated by the representatives of associations legallyrecognised has a legal value in so far as the associations

'I themselves are concerned or for any affiliated organs,independently of the fulfilment of the rules of publicationand publicity above specified; (b) that revision is permissible for any contract concerning any kind of work,inasmuch as the syndical law does not contemplate


any limitation in the matter; (c) that the new conditions in question should enter into force as from themoment when any possibility of conciliation was excluded since it was most difficult otherwise to establishwith certainty a date from which the reduction in wagesshould become operative.

As regards- the merits of the case, the judge declaredthat at the present time such changes were taking placein the economic conditions of rice-growing in Italy, asjustified a reduction in wages, but not to the extentrequested by the owners. The reduction granted wasin fact at a rate far lower than that requested by theowners and in the upshot this sentence was consideredas a victory for the workers.

Important legal actions, but which never reachedthe stage of a decision as, in. the meanwhile, the parties

C 1 d had come to an agreement, were brought beforeases sett e .

before the the Labour Courts. Most typical are thestage of '1 issues raised by house porters and seamen when~g~l. the question of a national contract for their

ecision. respective categories was under consideration.The National Syndicate of House Porters submitted,

in February 1928, through the President of the NationalConfederation of Fascist Syndicates, an appeal in whichthey asked that a collective contract should be arrangedfor their category, and to this effect submitted a draftfor the approval of the court. The requirementsof the house porters included the appointment of atrustee representing house-owners throughout Italy, inasmuch as there was as yet no legally recognised syndicalassociation of house-owners in existence, with which thehouse porters could deal in all questions. Without anycompulsory intervention on the part of the magistrate,the National Fascist Federation of House PropertyOwners, which was recognized on 17 January 1929, metthe Syndicate of House Porters and on 8 April 1929concluded a contract based on the following principles:(I) delimitation of the field of the application of thecontract; (2) definition of mutual rights and duties

Labour Courts

according to the terms of the Labour Charter ; (3) limitation of the National Labour Contract to such specialcharacteristics and elements as are common and essentialto their particular kind of work.

The seamen submitted to the Court at the beginningof 1930 an appeal containing a request for the draftingof a collective contract with the shipowners. The mostimportant questions which divided shipowners and seamen were the two following: (a) choice of the type formof normal enrolment; (b) determination of the numberof persons of which each ship's crew shall consist. Asregards the first question both shipowners and seamenwere agreed in preferring the contract with no fixed timelimit and only differed as regards the question of compensation and of notice of dismissal in case of termination of contract. As regards the second, while theowners insisted on retaining full freedom for the organisation of the work on board, the seamen claimed that thisfreedom should be regulated by means of the workingtime-table. Owing to the fact that general conditionsin seafaring work are much too varied to allow anyuniform application of a law to each individual, it wasdecided to defer all decisions in this matter to Commissions in which the ultimate decision would be reserved to the maritime authority.

Towards the close of 1930 the shipowners and seamensucceeded in coming to terms and a collective contractwas arranged.

In 1929 .and 1930 the Labour Court, as a court offirst instance, dealt also with questions concerning theC validity of collective contracts. This questionre~~:ding the has often given rise to disputes as a result ofValidity of the different interpretations of which the lawCollective is susceptible. Thus the Labour Court ofContracts.

Ancona, by a sentence dated 22 May 1929,determined that the local wage-earners' contract, stipulated under a national contract, though dealing onlywith the wages .of the workers, must also indicate theduration of the contract itself in the same manner as


the collective contract. The omission of such indicationrenders the contract null and void.

In August 1930 the Bari Labour Court was calledupon to decide on the validity of collective contracts:(a) when they do not clearly specify that the attempt atconciliation has failed to bring about an agreement;(b) when tAey do not indicate the period of duration;(c) when they are 110t signed by the legal representatives ofthe contracting associations. The sentence of 13 August1930 decided that. the first point is not legally validinasmuch as the explicit declaration that an agreementhas not been reached is not necessary; it is merelysufficient to prove that the syndical and corporativeorgans have duly considered the point in dispute. Asregards the second point, the indication of the periodof duration was deemed indispensable for the validity ofthe contract. As regards the third, the persons signinga collective contract must also be the legal representativesof the contracting associations; otherwise the contractis considered null and void.

The above considerations clearly show that the LabourCourt intends, in carrying out its functions, to follow asingle coherent line of conduct in order to stabilise labourconditions in Italy, and to devote more attention ratherto the substantial than to the formal aspects of thequestions raised. The formal side received special attention from the Labour Court when the question was toestablish a fundamental basis for the validity of thecontract.

v. PENAL LABOUR LAW

§ I. Abstention from work on the part of the workersand lockouts on the part of employers of labour are conTh S ik sidered by Fascist legislation as an arbitrary

e tri e. exercise of individual pretensions harmful tothe interests of the national commonwealth. The prohibition to take the law into one's own hands, which isnow a basic principle of modern law, has been emphasised,

Labour Courts

so that strikes and lockouts constitute, in Italian legislation, crimes punishable by penal law.

The Italian law of 3 April 1926, No. 563, Art. 18 sq.and the Royal Decree of I July 1926, No. I 130, Art.8S sq. showthat the strike is a penal offence when threeor more employees or workers leave their work, by preconcerted agreement with the object of obtaining fromtheir employers changed labour conditions, or of coercingthe will or of influencing the decisions of a departmentor organ of the State or of a Government official. Asregards civil servants, or persons employed in otherpublic bodies or enterprises providing a public utilityservice, it is sufficient that their object is to coerce thewill or to influence the decisions of a department or organof the State, Province or Commune or of a Governmentofficial. Not only abstention from work but also workperformed in a manner likely to interfere with its continuity or regularity are considered as cases of strikes.Where lockouts and strikes are accompanied by threatsor violence special penalties are imposed, as also on theleaders, promoters and organisers of such strikes andlockouts.

§ 2. "fhe lockout is a penal offence when employersof labour suspend work without justifiable motive, andThe Lock- for the sole purpose of obtaining from theirout. employees changes in existing labour contracts,or with the object of coercing the will or influencing thedecisions of a department or organ of State or of a Government official. For persons directing a public utility oressential service, the attempt at coercing the will orinfluencing the decisions of a department or organ ofState, Province or Commune or of a Government official

. is sufficient.According to Italian law strikes and lockouts are

prohibited even if the parties concerned are not membersof legally recognised syndicates, or even if particularcollective labour contracts have not been concluded.Strikes and lockouts are considered as such only when abusiness is large enough to be considered an establish-


ment in the true sense, and never when it is a purelyindividual enterprise. Persons responsible for publicutility or public necessity services are exempted fromthis restrictive interpretation inasmuch as the suspensionof such activities brings about a disorganisation of civillife. Strikes and lockouts are punishable when there isno justifiable motive, and it is the intention to use thesemeans as an instrument of class struggle and of classdefence.

§ 3. The Italian Labour Courts show an importantdegree of uniformity in the interpretation of the rulesNotes on the concerning the strike and the lockout. Owingpractic~ fol- to the fact that the strike is subject to penal~o~~d l~ sanctions, the court has been rather restrictive;~~aFnte:~· in its interpretation. Thus the strike has notpretation of been considered a penal offence when workersthe Court. have delayed to work pending the results of ameeting of a Commission appointed for settling newlabour conditions with the management (Pretura ofAbbiategrasso, 28 November 1928).

In some cases the interpretation of the judge has disregarded the strict rules of law and frequently taken intofavourable consideration the motives that induce theworkers to suspend work. Thus, workers who abanCases of doned work on grounds of solidarity withSolidarity other workers who had been unjustly punished,with other have not been considered as strikers by theWorkers. Tribunal (Tribunal of Campobasso, znd PenalSection, 22 November 1928). If, on the other hand,account is taken of the severity of the judge in casesof strikes or lockouts with an economic or politicalobject, it is to be noted that the penalties inflicted weremuch milder when the object was of an economicorder. Thus, in the case of an employer who declaresa lockout as a protest against an order on the part ofthe Podesta for the payment of a labour tax, the judgehas considered such lockout as having an economic purpose (Florence Tribunal, jrd Penal Section, 2 March19 2 9).

Laoour Courts

Strikes with political objects have beenjudged with great

S. severity, as when, e.g., several drivers of public

uspenSlon . .of Work for vehicles ceased work as a protest against aneco??mic or order of the Podesta (Court of Cassation, r stpoh~lcal Penal Section, 8 February 192 9).mouves. It is evident that, being a question of penallaws, the interpretation of the rules against the strikeshould be restrictive. The magistrate, however, has notconsidered as strikers persons who have ceased working because they interpreted as dismissal the negativereply of the employer to their request for a modification in the agreement (Tribunal of Viterbo, 23 August192 9).

The new Italian labour laws, after establishing theconditions that give rise to strikes or lockouts, providepenal sanctions for the parties responsible. Pecuniarysanctions are inflicted if the strike or the lockout isunaccompanied by physical or moral compulsion orviolence ; graver sanctions, including imprisonment, areinflicted in cases where violent action is taken. Thatthese laws have had good results is shown by the statisticsof strikes and lockouts in Italy from 1920 onwards.The efficiency of the Fascist Government is undoubtedlya factor in inducing the workers and employers to abstainfrom declaring a strike or lockout. But a more potentinfluence than the fear deriving from the certainty ofseeing applied certain sanctions in case of strikes orlockouts is considered to lie in a new realistic spirit amongthe producing classes, tending to the view that vocationaldisagreements should be amicably settled. Further, theproducing classes realise more clearly every day thepublic importance of their functions and hence, throughtheir legal representatives, their attitude is such that onlyin exceptionally difficult cases is the State called upon tointervene to safeguard public interests. Thus the lawkeeps abreast with the spirit of the age. It contemplatessanctions where certain determined offences are committed and reflects the true factor of the situation.Strikes and lockouts in a period of fuller economic con-.

The Italian Corporative Slate

sciousness on the part of the producing classes aremethods that are rather punishable than tolerable.

It is not claimed that the adoption of such a law asthe Fascist will eliminate strikes and lockouts altogether.The law, being a consequence of a general assent to theaforesaid principles, reduces the frequency of recourse tothese forrnspf class struggle and inflicts penalties shouldthey occur.'

1 See Tables on Strikes and Lockouts in Appendix B.

CHAPTER IV

CORPORATIVE ORGANISATION-THE CORPORATIONS AND THE NATIONAL

COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATIONS

1. THE CORPORATIVE SYSTEM AS A DEVELOPMENTOF SYNDICALISM

§ I. THE tendencies and provisions which have alreadybeen described in the case of the Occupational Associa-T tions illustrate one aspect only of the reformS;:dical des~red by Fas~ism. The orga!lisation of ~heAssociation varIOUS categories concerned with productionacnd the. into their mutually independent syndical asso-

orporation, .. hId b haracteri .ciations as a rea y ecome a c aracterrsticfeature of the new syndicalism in contrast with thesocialistic and revolutionary syndicalism which takesas its point of departure the conception of the inevitability of a violent struggle between employer andemployed. The Fascist State encourages and gives itssupport to the establishment of occupational associationsfor every category and seeks to set up a proper balancebetween the producing classes by putting itself abovethe various groups. The State tendency is to maintainits position of superiority in regard to the various groupsby reabsorbing them in itself, by exercising a moderating influence in their disputes and by protecting theirinterests. The State wishes to act as an umpire who,in every decision and in all circumstances, takes intoaccount the interests of the Nation, conceived as anindivisible whole dependent on certain fixed postulatesof a political order. The difference, however, betweenFascist Syndicalism and Syndicalism in the ordinaryacceptance of the term is not limited to a question of.

91


method-namely, the adoption or otherwise of violenceas a means of resolving the contrast of class interests.Fascist Syndicalism, after the various categories havebeen grouped in the occupational associations by whichthey are represented, sets out to devise the machinerywhich will allow effective collaboration.

The characteristic of this new syndicalism is thus notso much its concern with the tone of the relations ofthe producing classes as with the possibilities of theinstitutions which are at their service. Its problem isnot restricted to the method of organising masters,workmen, etc., but is more particularly concerned withsecuring collaboration as between the various categoriesof producers in each particular trade or branch of productive activity. In the light of this concept the twoimportant features in Fascist syndical organisation areclearly revealed. The first of these is the enrolment ofthe various producing categories with due regard totheir qualifications as employers, employed, etc.; thesecond, the combining of producers in State-recognisedbodies, in which they are grouped according to thebranch in which they are engaged, that is to say, asemployers and employed in industry, commerce, banking,etc. Hence, while the Confederations are associationsof higher grade in which the various associations of thegrade which comes immediately below are united,limited always to persons occupied in a certain specificbranch, the Corporations are the bodies which enablethe State to make use of the producing classes andcategories for the purpose of bringing about the development of national production.

In order clearly to understand the exact relationbetween the syndical and the corporative organisationsrespectively in the detailed programme of Fascism, theidea of a vertical and of a horizontal form of structuremay be found helpful. The Provincial Unions, theFederations and the Confederations may be said to beconstructed on vertical lines, inasmuch as they incorporate individuals and the occupational associations in

Corporative Organisation 93

which they are enrolled according to their trade orcalling, employers and employed being always separatelygrouped. On the other hand, the National Corporationsand the National Council of the Corporations, whichwill be discussed in detail later, proceed on horizontallines, since they incorporate the combined factors inproduction, grade by grade, in accordance with itsqualitative subdivisions but without any differentiationas to occupational status, i.e., as between employers andemployed. The corporative organs referred to causethe factors in production to come together on a footingof equality. Thus there arises the question how dothe purposes of the syndical associations differ fromthose of the Corporation.

It is the purpose of the syndical associations to obtainequilibrium and peace in social relations through anorganisation of the various classes of producers and acontrol over their relations with each other. The purpose of the Corporation is the protection of the nationalresources and the development of the forces of thecountry through the contact of the different factors inproduction raised to the dignity of organs of State.According to the principles as at present laid down bythe legislator, the Union, and generally the syndicalassociation, is required to function in a sphere predetermined and clearly delimited, wherein are includedsuch duties as the arrangement of collective contracts, theorganisation of the Ernplcyment Offices, the settlement oflabour disputes, the work of social assistance and benefit,vocational training, etc. The Corporation on the otherhand, whether in integrating the social activities of thesyndical associations in the field of the relations betweenthe producing categories or, e.g., of measures for dealing with the problem of unemployment, or in carryingout its own special responsibility for the developmentand control of national production, is free to work alongli?~s not materially restricted by definite legislative provisions.

§ 2. While syndical action pursues a course precisely


defined as regards aims and means, which have beenOriginality specifically predetermined, corporative actionof th~ Cor- launches out into vastly wider fields, which arepOlra~lve d extremely hard to reduce to a common de-so unon an · ° b · dnecessity for nommation or to rIng un er any systemgu.idi~g . capable of abstract definition, by reason of theprinciples In dyJthmic character of national production andthe develop- f - hifti h f h h d dment of the? t e s IItln~ c. aracter 0 t e met 0 s useNational In the exploitation of a large part of theEconomy. natural resources of the country. There needbe no surprise at the existence of so marked a differencein form between the principles underlying syndical andcorporative organisation respectively, when account istaken of the remote historical origin of the provisionscharacteristic of syndicalism as contrasted with therecent character of the corporative solution. Fascismhas adapted to the new requirements of its programmea number of points from the code proper to revolutionaryand classical syndicalism, but the code in the CorporativeState is an altogether new creation, drafted in too shorta space of time to allow that in its present form it cangive any impression of finality. Apart, however, fromquestions of chronology, this difference in form leadsto considerations of far deeper significance, havingreference to the structure which it is the purpose of thiscode to set up. The main object of Fascist Syndicalismis the attainment of social peace, and hence it simplyconstructs machinery for the solution of the socialproblem in the best way possible, always keeping withinthe bounds of the law; on the other hand, the underlyingcauses, giving rise to the divergencies which bring thesocial problem into prominence, lie outside its competence. The special function of the corporative systembecomes clearly indicated in connection with the determination of these underlying causes. The relations ofthe various categories of producers depend upon thecourse of production and the economic development ofthe Nation as a whole. The State itself endeavours toascertain the internal requirements of the country and,


on the basis of its appraisement of these requirements,seeks to organise the different categories concerned inproduction on the lines of a general scheme of collaboration. The influences which bring about divergenciesbetween different classes are frequently to be discernedin phenomena which transcend the boundaries of anysingle State, being of an international and economiccharacter and tending to raise or depress the standardof certain groups in the producing classes throughoutthe world. Side by side with the influences in theinternational field, others there are which are moreparticularly characteristic of each individual State and,even though there may be a close interconnection, theselatter may be studied as independent phenomena andin their particular manifestations in any given country.The various problems of production, of consumptionand of the export trade are, in these circumstances,considered from the point of view of national interest,taking into account alike those interests which arecalled immediate and those which, although not clearlyrevealed in their first effects, tend to modify and sometimes entirely upset the first approximate or temporarycalculations. Taking this view of the corporative system, many conceptions, connected with capitalisticeconomy and regarded from differing angles by thevarious schools of collectivism, must be taken intoconsideration and adapted to the new structure whichis being tried out in Italy. The principle of privateinitiative, which Fascism looks upon as a most effectiveand valuable instrument in the service of the nationalinterest, is in no sense abrogated in the corporativemovement, but combined with an idea of responsibilityas regards the State in the matter of production. Thisattitude is based on the hypothesis, that when once theState has determined their respective roles, all categorieswill actively pursue the appointed goal and that privateenterprise will be bound to follow the same course, ifit desires to continue to enjoy that liberty of directionand initiative in the organisation of its' undertakings.


which has been guaranteed to it by the legislator on theseterms.

The necessity for a plan which comprises in harmonious gradations the economic life of the nation isgrowing increasingly evident. The object of the corporative organisation is to supply this need, to judgeby its present structure rather than by its actual working.Too short a time has elapsed since the legislation dealingwith the Corporations was promulgated to allow anopinion to be expressed as to the degree to which thevarious institutions satisfy the purposes for which theywere established. These purposes, moreover, althoughadumbrated in the essential features of the law, havenot so far been specified precisely, a fact which showshow largely the system is capable of development andfuller definition.

Attempts at definition have not been wanting on thepart of stu.dents and especially of those who took partin drafting the law under discussion. Without, however,entering into a detailed analysis of the various proposedinterpretations, it would appear that they are ratherinspired by a prevailing desire to adapt the corporativesystem to existing institutions than by a desire to settlethe difficulties arising from present conditions by meansof this new system. Only through a continuous effortto adapt the means to hand to the facts of the case isit possible to obtain material progress in the economicand political field. For the purpose of giving a clearexplanation to the reader of the true function of thecorporative system, it is of no great value for him toknow that, in the opinion of certain authorities, a Corporation is in the nature of a council of experts withfunctions of a consultative character or merely of makingsuggestions for legislative measures to such bodies asare really competent to discuss them and to make thempublic. Nor would much light be thrown on the widefield of activities prescribed by the Fascist legislator forthe corporative scheme by the statement that it iseffectively an official me1\ns of organising the labour


market. In the face of conspicuous changes in theeconomic systems hitherto prevailing in many countriesand in face too of the difficulties involved in many of theprevailing methods of production, it was impossible forthe Italian legislator to limit himself to the establishment of institutions, which would carry out their workin a purely theoretical and advisory sphere or in a spherelimited to a socialistic conception of class and distribution problems. The problem of production and of theco-ordination and organisation of the means of production is so important that it cannot be ignored bythe new system. Insurmountable difficulties in a revision of methods of production are not to be foundamong the classes actually engaged in the process. Itshould be observed that, after the embittered periodimmediately following on the war, there has been ageneral diffusion among the working and directing classesof a mentality much more prone to forbearance andcompromise, while at the same time far from complacentand restive under dictation from above. Systems ofdistribution show a trend in the direction of types whichdiffer essentially from those which are characteristic of acapitalistic system, and the influence of the mass of theworkers becomes increasingly visible in the play ofeconomic forces. The manifestation by the producingclasses of a disposition favourable to agreements implicitly facilitates experiments with new solutions, whichaffect the whole rhythm and progress of production.Up to the present the corporative system has dealt onlywith certain phases of the problem with results thathave been noteworthy but not definitive, as for examplein the field of the regulation of foreign trade and alsoin certain branches of agricultural production. In theview of the present writer, however, the work that liesbefore it is of a quite different and far more comprehensive character. In order to be an economic systemsuitable for present-day requirements, it must attain tosuch a stage of efficiency as is required for the solutionof the difficulties by which the modern "economic world


is faced. In the light of so arduous a task the necessityfor widening the powers, developing the specialisationand the competence of the bodies made responsible forthe control of production emerges, as also the necessityfor a clear definition and determination of the ends inview-ends which are probably not definitive but represent stages...nly, being as it were steps along a certaineconomic road. Solely through the adaptation of themeans to the ends proposed is it possible in the courseof time to secure tangible results.

§ 3. The basic law of 3 April 1926 on the legalregulation of collective labour relations, which, as hasCharacter- been seen, lays down the principles to beistic features followed in establishing occupational associaof the . tions, contains but a brief reference to theCorporations,Corporations. In .Article 3 it is stated that"Associations of Employers and Associations of Workersmay be combined by means of central liaison organisationswith higher officials common to both, provided that theseparate representation of employers and workers isalways maintained." These words show clearly that acombination of employers and workers in the sameindustry or branch of activity was in the first instancementioned as a possibility and that the new institutionof the Corporation would be based on a mere principleof inter-syndical grouping. This theory of a coordinating body could not fail to be developed later inthe provisions for giving effect to the law. Herein theconcept of the Corporation is more clearly brought outand two fundamental characteristics are made evident,namely: (I) that the Corporation is national in character;(2) that the Corporation has no legal independentpersonality but is an organ of the State Administration. Hence the Corporation becomes defined as abody which links up the syndical associations of thevarious factors in production, employers and intellectualand manual workers for a particular branch of production or for one or more particular categories of businessenterprises.


The Corporation is constituted by decree of theMinister of Corporations. This decree lays down: (I)the purposes which the Corporation is appointed tofulfil; (2) the powers with which the Corporation isvested for fulfilling these purposes; (3) the minor bodiesof which the Corporation is composed; (4) the methodsof and qualifications for appointment to membership inthese bodies; (5) the specific attributions of thesebodies.

§ 4. The object of the Corporations is: (I) to examineand to endeavour to discover, in a manner concordant

Ob O t d with the interests of the national economy,jec s an 1· f hI 1·

powers of the the so utions 0 pro ems re ating to the pro-Corporation ductive activities of the various organisationsaond the brought together through the Corporation

rgans · If 11 ·through nseu, (2) to secure a permanent co aborationwhich it between employers and workers concerned inworks. the branches of industry referred to above,harmonising so far as possible the interests of thevarious participating classes with the development andbetterment of national production.

The powers which a Corporation is required to exercise are various and include: powers strictly syndical incharacter, such as the regulation of training and apprenticeship, as also inter-syndical powers, such, e.g., as thesettlement of disputes arising between the combinedorganisations and the issue of regulations relating thereto;powers properly corporative in character, that is, powersrelating to the corporative organisation of productionand hence to the encouragement and support of movements designed to further such co-ordination and organisation; specific powers as regards the control of laboursupply and demand, including the establishment of labourexchanges, where required.

The organs through which a Corporation works arethe President and the Council. The President isappointed and dismissed by decree of the Minister ofCorporations. The Council consists of representativesof the organisations grouped through the Corporation.


Within the Council the numerical representation ofthe employers' organisations must be equal to that ofthe organisations of workers, intellectual and manualalike.

As the law has only recently been published, it isnot easy to determine after so brief a period of practicalworking wll,at are the exact functions of the Presidentand of the -Council in ,a Corporation. From the examplesat present available, and in particular the case of theCorporation of the Stage, it seems that the functions ofthe President are ~ mainly administrative. Apart fromhis power to initiate discussions in the Council, thePresident appears to be a kind of liaison officer withthe Minister of the Corporations and the Council.The Council of a Corporation is mainly a consultativebody in regard to questions directly affecting the Corporation itself. The decisions of the Council of theCorporations may have a regulative force in mattersrelating to conditions of service in the organised categories, when the syndical associations to which thesecategories belong express their agreement with theirterms.

The above statement shows clearly that a Corporationmaintains its independent existence alongside of thesyndical associations, but at the same time that theboundary line between the two institutions is not clearlydrawn and that up to the present their respectivefunctions have not been precisely defined. The objectsof the Corporations are to some extent .curtailed by thelarge number of the duties reserved to the syndicates,while those that really seem specifically to belong tothe new institutions have not yet been established effectively. The only resolutions of a Corporation that havea directive effect require the previous support of thesyndical associations.


II. THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATIONS

§ I. The corporative organisation only began tomanifest its independence in 1930. Previous legislationChange in had instituted bodies having functions ofcharacter liaison such as the National Corporations and~cs:t~~gLa made provision for the establishment of aO~o30 rv:arc; body with far-reaching powers in a National193°· Council of the Corporations. This Councilwas regarded as an administrative body in which membership was conferred by ex-officio right on a number ofpersons of high rank selected from the higher officialsof the various Ministries, as also on representatives ofthe various Confederations and semi-official institutions,including the Workers' Leisure Time National Institute(Opera N azionale Dopolavoro), the National YoungPeople's Institute (Opera Nazionale Balilla) and theMaternity and Child Welfare National Institute (Op.eraNazionale per la Protezione della Maternitd e dell'Infanzia).The duties of the National Council of the Corporationsin its early stages were of a consultative character inregard to questions not very clearly set out and defined,but as a general rule having relation to the Corporationsor at any rate proposed by the Minister of Corporations.The National Council of the Corporations, as it figuresin the law of 20 March 1930, is a body which hasdeveloped on a far broader scale and with better definedfunctions. The legislator's special care to adapt thisorganisation to prevailing economic requirements is madeevident by the constitution of the sections into whichthe Council is divided, which reflect the manner inwhich the various branches of production found theirplace in the constitution of the syndical Confederations.

§ 2. The National Council of the Corporations conSections and sists of seven Sections, corresponding to thesub-Sections typical Confederations already considered inof the. the previous chapter, the representatives of em-Council. ployers and employed being grouped togetherin each Section. These Sections are as follows:-


(I) The Section of the Liberal Professions and Arts,divided into two sub-sections, one representing theProfessions and the other the Arts;

(2) The Section of Industry and Crafts, divided intotwo sub-sections, one for Industry and one for Crafts;

(3) The Section of Agriculture;(4) The«ction of Commerce;(5) The Section of. Internal Comrnunications ;(6) The Section of Sea- and Air-Transport, divided

into two sub-sections, one for Sea- and one for AirTransport;

(7) The Section of Banks.The sub-sections, as regards matters belonging to

their particular competence, have equal powers with theSections and may function independently. When thequestions under discussion ~re of common interest theSections and sub-sections may combine and hold jointmeetings. Whenever these questions concern the wholesyndical co-operative organisation of the State and incertain other clearly prescribed cases the Sections of theCouncil are summoned to a joint meeting known asthe General Assembly.

§ 3. The National Council of the Corporations meetsas a General Assembly twice a year in ordinary sessionThe General and in special session, whenever a writtenAssembly. request is made by the President or by athird of the membership for its convocation for thepurpose of dealing with some specific business. Thesemeetings of the General Assembly are open to thepublic, unless special provision is made by the Presidentto the contrary. The following persons are membersof the Assembly. of the National Council of the Corporations :-

The Minister of Corporations;The Minister of Internal Affairs;The Minister of Agriculture and Forests;The Secretary of the National Fascist Party;The Under-Secretaries of State' for the Ministry of

Corporations and all the representatives appointed by

Corporative Organisation 1°3

the Syndical Confederations of employers and employedfor their respective sections.

Among the other permanent representatives in thesections the following are members of the Assembly:-

(a) On behalf of the National Confederation of Professional Men and Artists, the President of the Confederation together with respectively ten and fourrepresentatives of the National Syndicates of the category of Professional Men and of Artists belonging tothe sub-sections of the Liberal Professions and Arts,nominated by the Confederation in the manner prescribedby the regulations.

(b) On behalf of the National Institute of Cooperation, the President and two other representativesnominated by the Institute from among the membersof the sections.

The following also attend the meetings of the GeneralAssembly:-

I. The Vice-Secretaries and a member of the Directorate of the Fascist National Party appointed by theSecretary to the Party;

2. The Heads of Departments of the Ministry ofCorporations;

3. The Heads of Departments of the Ministry ofAgriculture and Forests;

4. The President of the Workers' Leisure TimeNational Institute;

5. The President of the National Workers' AidSociety; 1

6. The President of the Association of DisabledEx-Service Men;

7. The President of the National Association of ExService Men;

8. A Representative of the General Fascist Association of Public Service Employees nominated by theAssociation itself;

9. Two Representatives of the remaining Associationsspecified in Article 92 of the Royal Decree of I July

1 For definition of National Workers' Aid Society,·see p. 224.

1°4 The Italian Corporative State

1926, No. I 130, nominated by agreement among theAssociations themselves or, in default, by the Ministerof Corporations;

10. Ten persons with special competence in mattersrelating to syndical organisation, law and corporativeeconomic life and other forms of activity and controlof a technicseand legal order concerned with production,nominated by the Minister of Corporations.

It is thus clearly seen that the Assembly is not apurely technical bcdy, nor is it the equivalent of agrouping of all the sections, but it includes, side byside with the representatives of the occupational categories, representatives of the State Administration, ofthe various institutes and associations having patrioticaims or purposes of social welfare and a number ofexperts on questions of organisation, legal and economicin character.

§ 4. For the treatment of individual subjects of agener~.l and mainly technical kind, the law provides forSpecial the establishment of special permanent ComPermal:e~t missions-such, for example, as the TradeconlnllSSJOns'Commission appointed 28 November 193I-consisting of members of the General Assembly. Theduties of these Commissions, their membership and thescope of their competence in relation to the other organsof the Council are fixed by Government ordinance onthe recommendation of the Minister of Corporations.Unlike the Sections and sub-sections of the GeneralAssembly and the Central Corporative Committee whichwill now be described, these special Commissions aremerely facultative and not essential elements in theconstitution of the Council.

It would appear that their function is to carry out, onbehalf of other regular organs of the Council, the workof preparation for the discussions on the particular problems they are required to study. Up to the present,however, no examples of their practical working areavailable.

§ 5. In addition to its. Sections and sub-sections, its


General Assembly and its special permanent Commissions, the National Council has also among its organsCentral the Central Corporative Committee. This bodyCorporative has as its President the Head of the GovernCommittee. ment or the Minister of Corporations and con-sists of a limited number of members who are personsholding high political office. They include: the Ministerof the Interior, the Minister of Agriculture and Forests,the Secretary of the National Fascist Party, the U nderSecretaries of State for the Corporations, the Presidentsof the National Confederations of Employers and ofEmployed and of independent Professional Men andArtists, the President of the National Institute of Cooperation, the President of the National Workers' AidSociety and the Secretary General of the National Councilof the Corporations. The function of this Committeeis to co-ordinate the work of the Council, to take the placeof the General Assembly for all matters of urgency inthe intervals between meetings and to express its viewson matters concerning the political aspects of the activitiesof the syndicates in regard to production and to the moralpurposes of the corporative organisation. In the lightof the specific limits fixed by the clear definition of theduties of the Section and of the comprehensiveness of theAssembly as a representative body, the Central Corporative Committee stands out as the body best suited forassuming the permanent direction of corporative action.The special function prescribed for the Committee isthat of complementing the manifold activities in whichthe corporative institutions are engaged. The natureof the membership of the Committee gives it a politicalcharacter so that its decisions represent the official

.orientation of the corporative system in actual working.

F. f § 6. The above is a brief description of

unctions 0 h - b d- h· h - hthe National t e various 0 ies W ic enter Into t e con-Council of stitution of the National Council of the Cort~e corpora-porations. For the better understanding ofnons, the constitutional importance of this body, ofits special potentialities in the development of production


and in the settlement of the relations between the variouscategories concerned with production as also of theprobable development of its functions in connection withfuture improvements and adaptations, it will be usefulto set out the attributions ascribed by the law to theCouncil.

The duties assigned to the National Council of theCorporations' 'are of a varied character and are stated inthe law more by way of examples than with any purposeof laying down precise limits for the competence of thenew institution. The functions of the Council vary inaccordance with the matter in hand. They may consistin the issue of statements of opinion on the request, incertain cases obligatory and in others optional, of theinstitutions concerned, in the power to authorise certainlines of action on the part of the syndical associations,in the issue of rules dealing not only with the controlof labour relations or with corporative activities relatedto insurance and social welfare, but also with the regulation of collective economic relations as between thevarious categories concerned in production.

(a) Statements of opinion are given by the NationalCouncil of the Corporations on a great variety of quesThe issue of tions including, for example:-Sta~e~entsof (I) the enrolment of individuals in theOpinion. various syndical associations, and of lower

ranking associations in those of higher standing, asalso all matters arising in connection with enrolmentand organisation among the syndical associations orwithin the Corporations themselves; .

(2) the practical application and integration of theprinciples involved in the Labour Charter regardingproduction, including those having reference to assistance, development, co-ordination and improvement inmethods;

(3) the regional and national co-ordination ofplacings in employment. Statements of opinion arealso requested in a number of other cases as set out inthe law and the present list does not pretend to be


exhaustive, but it is not desired to weary the readerwith unnecessary detail. As already stated, it isobligatory that the views of the National Council ofthe Corporations should be obtained in certain of thecases quoted above, as for example: (I) the recognitionof syndical associations or the withdrawal of recognition previously allowed; (2) authorisation for therecognition of new National Confederations; (3) appealspresented in the last resort to the Minister of Corporations against the refusal of the admission to alegally recognised association or against the expulsionof a member or any other provision of a disciplinarycharacter, whether relating to an individual or to anassociation of inferior standing in respect to an association of higher rank. A statement, when obligatorilyrequired, is issued by the National Council of theCorporations at the General Assembly.(b) The power of authorisation is exercised by the

National Council of the Corporations in regard to the

P tsyndical category - associations. These haveower 0 •

authorise the authority to settle scales of payment for theissue of. occupational services of their own representaInstructions, tives and to issue regulations of a compulsorycharacter for all members of the particular category.This power of authorisation relates to regulations whichhave validity within each occupational category and mustnot be confused with regulations in the matter of collective labour contracts, whereby the rates of the personalremuneration of the workers are fixed by agreementwith the employers.

(c) The most important function ascribed to theNational Council of the Corporations is undoubtedly

. The issue of that of issuing regulations. This body has' inRegulations. fact the power of laying down rules:-

(i) for the co-ordination of the various forms ofsocial assistance work carried out by the legallyrecognised syndical associations or by institutionshaving kindred purposes;

(ii) for the co-ordination of all the regulatory


activities of the Corporations and in particular of thevarious regulations which are involved in labourrelations determined by collective contracts or settlements of a similar nature;

(iii) for the regulation of the collective economicrelations between the various categories concernedwith production, represented by duly recognisedsyndical associations.This last function places the National Council of the

Corporations in a position in which it can exercise veryconsiderable influence llpon the development of themeans of production in the national economic life ofItaly. Through the syndical organisation the streamof activities of the occupational associations has beenbrought within limits but without changing in anyfundamental way the tendency on the part of the producers to form associations. Through the law on theCorporations the various occupational categories havebeen enabled to meet at any time in order to take decisionson matters of common interest. By vesting the NationalCouncil of the Corporations with responsibility forissuing regulations regarding the economic relationsbetween the various categories concerned with production, a transformation is brought about in the economicinstitutions as previously conceived, through the introduction by the Government of a voluntary and effectiveelement in the play of the contrasting interests of thevarious classes. This is not the place to show how farthis provision is in harmony with the most moderntendencies in the economic field. Here it is merelynecessary to call attention to its existence and to emphasise the importance of the fact that, with the decline ofconfidence in the theory of economic liberty, the Statecreates its own instruments for controlling nationaleconomic life as a whole. The clauses in the law whichassign to the National Council of the Corporations thisfunction of laying down regulations are accompaniedby certain conditions prescribed by the legislator throughthe desire to mitigate the revolutionary implications of


the change. The politician might induce the economistto believe that this intention was meritorious, havingregard to the importance of the transformation in presenteconomic organisation brought about by the law. Inthe opinion of the writer, however, the safeguardingclauses which follow on those which attribute to theNational Council of the Corporations the power to prescribe regulations should be curtailed. In point offact, in order that the National Council of the Corporations may be in a position to issue regulations on points(i) and (ii), it is necessary that it should be moved toexercise this function in each individual case by the Headof the Government on the recommendation of theMinister of Corporations; as regards point (iii), the callto act must reach the National Council of the Corporationsfrom the associations interested after receiving previousauthorisation and in agreement with and with the consentof the Head of the Government. The matters dealt withunder points (i) and (ii) are of special importance fromthe point of view of the settlement of working conditionsand in the relations between the various categories ofproducers. Thus the existence of these safeguardingclauses is justified on the ground that the issue of newregulations is in this way permitted in cases of necessity.Authorisation on the part of the occupational associationswould appear to be not so much a necessary safeguardas a handicap in the case of point (iii), inasmuch asthe occupational associations do not yet possess a sufficiently developed organisation and independence toenable them to judge in many cases either of the necessityor otherwise for the issue of a ruling, nor is it to beexpected that the interests of a particular group can havein the associations themselves such impartiality of treatment as in the National Council of the Corporations.As a result certain rules which might be of the greatestvalue for the general economic life may either not becalled for or be delayed on account of the inaction of theoccupational associations.

§ 7. The above description shows that the character

I 10 The Italian Corporative State

of the National Council of the Corporations is that ofan administrative body, to which a variety of

Character of f .. d.i I di h f issuithe National unctions IS entruste ,Inc u lng t at 0 lssulngCouncil of rules which have the force of law for all int~e Corpora- whose regard they have been drawn up.nons, These rules are the result of the powersdelegated to the Council and therefore can only havereal force in ~() far as they are not in contradiction with thelaw and in so far as the question involved is not otherwise dealt with by the law itself. This last duty of theNational Council of the Corporations should not beallowed to cause the reader to think that the Council is aconstitutional body on all fours with the Parliament orthe Senate. The Council can be dissolved or have itspowers curtailed by laws emanating from the Parliamentor the Senate, whereas it has no powers of its own inregard to these two bodies. The Head of the Government is the President of the National Council of theCorporations and controls its working within the limitslaid down by the law. Hence the Council acts withina limited field and is merely an administrative body,which is bound to derive from its direct dependence onthe head of the executive power its necessary functionalcompetence to deal with the productive activities of theNation.

III. THE CORPORATIONS IN THEIR ACTUAL WORKING

§ I. Before closing this summary analysis of the Lawrelating to the National Council of the Corporations, it isThe desirable to note that, after an interval of onlyCorporation some two years from the date when its newof the Stage. duties were laid down, it is impossible tojudge, in the light of any practical results, how thesystem is actually working in the corporative fieldproperly so-called. Reference has already been madeto the fact that only a single Corporation, viz., that ofthe Stage, has so far been established in Italy as anindependent organ with the direct object of finding the

Corporative Organisation I I I

solutions of problems regarding the theatrical and filmindustries. The other existing Corporations are simplysections of the National Council. The establishment ofother independent Corporations to deal with the problemsof particular categories is at present under consideration.

The Corporation of the Stage was established on6 December 1930, and its Council met for the first timeon 30 May 193 I. The work of this Corporation wasparticularly arduous, since in Italy as in other countriesthe theatrical industry is feeling the effects of the crisisacutely. The presentation of operas and plays constantly fails to satisfy the demands of the public, whichare to-day for good-class productions at prices suitableto the diminished incomes of the average playgoer. Inaddition there is widespread unemployment among allclasses of theatrical workers, operatic and dramaticartists, musicians, stage hands, etc.; at the same time themanagers' returns are small with a consequential difficulty in staging the plays and operas which suit therequirements of the public of to-day. Cinema performances, which even before the appearance of the "talkingfilm" showed signs of a falling off both in quality and inprofits, became a drug on the Italian market when thisimportant technical revolution was brought about. Itwas, in fact, impossible to show in Italian halls films withthe spoken parts in foreign languages and very difficultto adapt foreign films satisfactorily for production inItaly. As a result there was a strong demand for alimited number of films somewhat poorly adapted toItalian taste, prices in each case ruled exceedingly highand the owner of a cinema hall received but scantyreturns, either on account of the quality of the films-offered to the public or of the diminished financialresources of the public interested. The national industry has been organised only quite recently and is notyet in a position to satisfy, either as regards quality ormore particularly as regards quantity, the call for originalspoken films in the Italian language.

Referring again to what was said previously regarding


the constitution of the Corporations, it will be seen thatno explicit authority is given to this State organ to adoptextreme measures such as, for example, the direct management on the part of the State of theatrical and cinemaundertakings, etc. That it was not the intention of theGovernment to have recourse to such a drastic remedywas clearly .stated by the Minister of Corporations inhis opening 'address, when he declared that the Corporation of the Stage has tor its object the co-ordination ofall forms of theatrical enterprise so that they may servea single national purpose, and not the establishment ofa single enterprise for the stage. In practice the effectis simply to vest the Corporation with indirect responsibilities, such as for dealing with the actual conditionsprevailing in the industry, either by arranging agreementsbetween employers and employed or between the variousgroups of employers or by obtaining various forms ofgovernmental assistance in the most important cases.

Thus the Corporation encouraged the establishmentof a Consortium of the Operatic Stage, a private independent institution for co-ordinating the administrativework of the principal theatrical institutions of Italy concerned with the opera in receipt of State aid. With thehelp of this organisation it should be possible to reducethe cost and at the same time to improve the quality ofthe staging of any opera, inasmuch as advantage can betaken of the same detailed work of preparation and ofthe same mounting as adopted by anyone of the variousdependent institutions for any particular production.The Consortium will also interest itself in the presentationof a series of performances in the smaller towns so as toprovide the opportunity for enjoying works of highartistic value in places that do not possess theatres comparable with those which are connected with the Consortium. The Consortium further aims at the directengagement of the artists required by the membertheatres with the double object of eliminating the agencysystem, which increases the costs for artists and seriouslyaffects the expenses of stage production, and also of

Corporative Organisation Ir3

leaving freedom- of choice in regard to the persons toplay particular parts without submitting to the claimsmade by star artists considered indispensable. Theposition taken up by the Consortium, which has thesupport of the Corporation of the Stage, is in perfectagreement with and clinched by the spirit of the collectivelabour contracts which, as has already been seen, aim atreducing all costly forms of third-party intervention inthe engagement of labour. On 1 October 1932 thisConsortium was dissolved. Its responsibilities for placing in employment were transferred to the Employment Bureaus, which by this time had been completelyreorganised throughout the Kingdom. Its responsibilities for the work of co-ordinating performances andadministration in the various centres were entrustedto the National Fascist Association of the Stage, whichis attached to the General Confederation of ItalianIndustry. The Corporation has also urged the Ministryof Communications to allow substantial reductions inrailway fares to all classes of artists, these concessionsbeing specially advantageous to the travelling theatricalcompanies which are so numerous throughout Italy.Similar concessions were also obtained from the steamship companies which convey artists to foreign countries.

On behalf of dramatic performances recommendationswere made in favour of a reduction in the Governmenttax on the prices of tickets and a successful appeal wasurged for a reduction in the charges for the electricalpower required for the presentation of the plays themselves.

In order to encourage the development of the cinemaindustry, the Ministry of Corporations has arranged thatas from the fir.ancial year 1930-1 the sum of 2,- 5 millionliras annually shall be allocated for the award of premiums to those Italian producers who during the yearstage films) shown to be successful, both from the artisticand frorn the financial standpoint, as indicated by thereturns obtained by the State through the Government taxon the prices charged for admission tickets.

These measures adopted in aid of an industry in

I 14 The Italian Corporative State '

distress at a critical period show that in "the few monthsof its existence the Corporation of the Stage has beenvery active. The question at once arises, one to whichup to the present it is not possible to give a reply,whether the resources and the means at the disposal of theCorporation are adequate to enable the theatrical industryto overcome.~p.e period of crisis.

In practice the problem should probably be statedin another way-namely, whether the crisis against whichthe theatrical industry is struggling (reference is heremade to this industry in the same way as it might bemade to any other) can be overcome with such meansas so far seem to be possessed by the Corporation. If,despite its severity, the crisis is merely a passing phenomenon and does not, in fact, involve -at the same timethe basic economic institutions as at present constitutedand functioning, in that case the measures taken mayserve to speed up and to reduce the more serious lossesinvolved in the passage of its most ugly phases. If onthe other hand, as appears to be the case, the seat andorigin of the present trouble is really to be found in thespirit of these economic institutions themselves and oftheir members, it becomes necessary that the Corporations, if they are to be in a position to make any effectivecontribution to its solution, should be able to call on allthe resources which the law of their constitution hasprovided to enable them properly to fulfil their functions,including those which go beyond the simple duty of coordination, and bring them into contact with the vitalproblems of consumption and of production.

§ 2. During the interval that must elapse before theCorporations become organised through bringing togetherThe Sections the various occupational associations, the lawof the for the reform of the National Council of the~:~i~~i~~ftheCoq~o!ations, dated 2? ~arch 1930,.makesCorporations prOVISiOn for the possibility of conferring onacting as the individual Sections or sub-sections of theCorporations.Council the duties and powers that properlybelong to the Corporation. Thus the Section or sub-

Corporative Organisation lIS

section comes to act in the place of the Corporationin respect of the corresponding branch of productionor of the related categories of undertakings, with theexception, however, of those categories of undertakingsfor which a proper Corporation has already been constituted. As a result of this provision the Sections andsub-sections to-day function as Corporations in regard toall such duties as have been attributed to these bodiessince the passing of the law. The functions of conciliation in the event of a dispute arising on a labour questionas between one syndical association and another, whichshould be exercised by the Corporation properly so called,are excluded from the competence of the Sections evenin so far as they act as Corporations.

§ 3. Before concluding the section in which theCorporations are discussed, it is necessary to remind theProvincial reader that, as bodies for bringing togetherEconomic the syndical organisations, the sphere of theCouncils. Corporations is national in character. How isthe actual organisation and control of the various factorsentering into production carried out in practice in theindividual provinces? For a time it was thought necessary that in each province there should be constituted aProvincial Corporation which should carry out over amore limited area the same functions as a Corporationfor the country as a whole. This solution found amaterial obstacle in the fact that the so-called ProvincialEconomic Councils (Consigli Prouinciali dell' Economia)were already in existence and actually at work in everyprovince of Italy. Until 1927 these institutions wereknown as Chambers of Commerce, and in effect theywere largely responsible for the work which in many

. countries is attributed to bodies bearing this title. Thebusiness of the Provincial Economic Council is, in fact,the economic development of the productive activitiesof the province, for which purpose they employ variousmeans, including the promotion of new legislation,assistance in securing the due application of the lawsalready in existence, the encouragement and supervision


of all movements in favour of the improvement of production, alike from the point of view of quantity and ofquality. The already existing similarity of duties asbetween the National Corporations recently establishedand the long-standing Provincial Councils found a parallelin the character of the functions carried out in practiceby the offices of the Councils themselves. Hence itappeared to 'be unnecessary to set up new bodies whichwould have partly deprived of their authority bodiesalready in existence without succeeding in securing thepractical knowledge and experience which the Councilshad obtained through years of experience. Thus inorder to bring the existing Councils into harmony withthe scheme described above, a revision of the compositionand of the attributes of these Councils was made bythe Law of 18 June 1931, No. 875, whereby theepithet "corporative" was added to their title. In theProvincial Corporative Economic Council, as in theNational Council of the Corporations, there are sectionsand special commissions, and the sections must correspond to the various branches of productive activity, theagricultural, the industrial, the commercial, etc., as alsoto that connected with labour and social insurance.According to the terms of the law of I 8 June, everysection must include an equal number of representativesof employers and of employed persons, but up to thepresent such representation is as a matter of fact in beingonly for the section which deals with labour and socialinsurance. This section assumes responsibility for theapplication and development of the regulations relatingto every branch of workers' insurance and in particularfor the supervision and co-ordination of the public LabourExchanges within the province. Special Commissionsmay be established for dealing with questions mainlytechnical in character, and for the administration ofbusiness undertakings, services and special funds.


IV. THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATIONS

It will be seen from the explanation given in thischapter that the legislation undertaken by the FascistRegime tends to give a new trend and complexion to theorganisation of labour and of production in Italy. Theintervention of the Government in questions concerningsyndical organisation and, in the second place, the connections established between the various factors in production, could only be regulated by an appropriate body.This body without taking the place of the syndicalassociations, in so far as in certain respects their actionis independent, had to bring together under a singleadministration the productive forces of the Nation,associated and combined on principles quite other thanthose followed in the past. Hence a new Ministryunder the title of the Ministry of Corporations wasdevised for the express purpose. At the outset thecharacteristics of this Ministry were similar to thoseof the Labour Departments in Anglo-Saxon countries,although the leading principles underlying Italian legislation offered possibilities of further and more radicaldevelopment. The Ministry of Corporations was composed originally of two general departments, one to dealwith the Corporations and the other with the occupationalassociations. Provision was also made in the newMinistry for places for two corporate bodies: (a) theNational Council of the Corporations, (b) the Corporationsthemselves.

This initial structure proved in practice to be unsatisfactory in the light of existing circumstances, and thatfor two reasons: (I) various branches of activity whichshould have come within the sphere of the Ministry ofCorporations were under the control of other Ministriesset up during a quite different period; (2) the Corporations themselves had not as yet taken on the characternor exercised the specific functions for which they wereestablished.

For this reason, at the end of 1929 the. Ministry of


Corporations took over the various services for whichthe Ministry of National Economy had formerly beenresponsible. This Ministry, which was originally knownas the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce,was continually increasing its control in matters of labourand social insurance and welfare, while naturally, at thesame time, carrying out the services indicated by itstitle. In c~sequence of the transformation of theMinistry of Corporations, the Ministry of NationalEconomy was suppressed. All the services with whichthis Ministry had hitherto been entrusted were transferred to the Ministry of Corporations, with the exception of those relating to agriculture in its technicalaspects. For this purpose the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Integral Land Reclamation was established.

According to the latest .arrangements the variousservices of the Ministry of Corporations have beendivided into five general departments as follows:-

(a) Department of the Secretariat of the NationalCouncil of the Corporations, of General Purposes and ofStaff Questions;

(b) Department of the Occupational Associations;(c) Department of Labour, Welfare and Social In-

surance;(d) Department of Industry;(e) Department of Commerce.The Department of the Secretariat of the National

Council of the Corporations, of General Purposes andof Staff Questions includes, in addition to the NationalCouncil of the Corporations and the offices of whichit is composed, the three following divisions:-

I. The Secretariat of the Category Corporations;II. The Central Service of the Provincial Economic

Councils and their Offices;III. The Division for General Purposes and Staff

Questions.The Department of the Occupational Associations is

in its turn arranged in five divisions:-


the first of these deals with the legal recognition ofthe syndical associations and their officers;

the second with methods of enrolment and syndicalcontributions;

the third with general questions, other than financial,relating to supervision, protection, inspection and controlin the matter of the working of the syndical associationsand of their relations to the four fundamental institutionsfor social assistance associated with the Regime; 1

the fourth with the inspection and control of thefinancial administration of the syndical associations;

the fifth with the propaganda work of the corporativeorganisation, the means used for this purpose being thesyndical school, educational centres, publications, etc.

The Department of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance is divided into the following six divisions:-

I. The Division for General Purposes and International Labour Questions, including foreign legislation, relations with the International Labour Office, etc.This division is also responsible for the publication ofthe Review Sindacato e Corporazione;

2. The Division for Labour Relations, which assistsand protects the parties concerned in the settlement ofcollective labour contracts;

3. The Division for Labour Legislation and CollectiveContracts, whose duties include the carrying out of speciallegislative studies and drafting legislation relating to theprotection of labour, together with the lodging, preservation and checking of the terms of the collective contracts;

4. The Employment Division, which exercises ageneral supervision over unemployment, internal migration and emigration, and makes a special study of thevarious phases of these problems;

1 These four institutions are: the Workers' Leisure Time National Institute(Opera Nasdonale DopoLavoro); the Maternity and Child Welfare NationalInstitute (Opera Nasdonale per La Protezione della Maternitd e dell' Infanzia);the National Young People's Institute (Opera Nasdonale Balli/a) and theNational Workers' Aid Society (Patronato Nazionale).


S. The Division of Mutual Aid and Co-operation,which devotes its attention to the drafting and enforcement of the laws and provisions relating to co-operation,and supervises and co-ordinates the various providentinstitutions established by the occupational associations;

6. The Division of Social Insurance, which dealswith the laws, special provisions and institutions forinsurance, c~vering disablement and old age, tuberculosis and sickness in general, accidents to industrial andagricultural workers.; as also maternity and unemployment risks.

The Corporative Inspectorate is also attached to thisdivision. This body is responsible for the general supervision of labour throughout the country in its technical,hygienic and legal aspects.

The Department of Industry consists of fivedivisions:I. The first Division, that of Industry properly so

called, is responsible for the application of the measuresrelating to industry, including industrial areas, the equipment of new factories, etc., and supplies rules for theformation of industrial consortia, institutions or committees for the development of particular industrialenterprises;

2. The second is the Division of Mines, and administers the mines belonging to the Government, controls existing mining enterprises, regulates concessionsfor the working of mineral zones and carries out studiesof an economic, financial and legislative character withregard to mineral research in the Kingdom and in theColonies;

3. The third Division, that of Liquid Fuels, makesa special study of petroleum research work in Italy andregulates the supply of mineral. oils, its main functionbeing the solution of the national fuel problem;

4. The fourth Division deals with industrial rights,including foreign patents, manufacturers' models anddesigns;

S. The fifth Division is concerned with trade marksand author's rights.


The Department of Commerce has five divisions:I. The first is the Division of Treaties and is con

cerned with the operations relating to the arrangementof treaties, conventions and trade relations with foreigncountries;

2. The second Division, Legislation and CustomsTariffs, deals with customs tariffs and particularly withItalian tariffs, and also undertakes the study and examination of economic possibilities as the results of modifications in existing customs regulations;

3. The third, the Division of Studies and Measuresfor the development of Foreign Trade, is particularlyconcerned with the study of markets and with the protection of foreign trade, and also with the status andactivities of the commercial attaches and representativesabroad;

4. The fourth Division, that of Home Trade, makesreports on traffic movements, endeavours to develop andregulate trade relations, sees to the application of thelaw relating to business development in certain industries,regulates the action at law of companies and commercialinstitutions, both as regards their legal recognition andthe position of their accounts;

5. The fifth Division deals with Weights and Measuresand the Assaying of Precious Metals, and is responsiblefor all questions relating to international laws and conventions in the matter of weights and measures.

There is also attached to the Ministry of Corporationsan independent bureau for the supervision of insuranceof all kinds. In addition to its general responsibilitiesfor the control of the administration of the insurancefunds connected with the State, this bureau also exercisesa general legal and financial supervision over the privatesocieties and institutions which carry out life, accidentand other forms of insurance.

From the foregoing summary it will be seen thatthe offices dependent on the Ministry of Corporationsreflect in a minor degree all the activities which havebeen brought under the control of the Corporative.


System. The entire scheme is built up in such a waythat for every aspect of the organisation of the labourmarket and of production in the country at large, thereexists a corresponding office at the centre. The Nation,as a whole and as a working and productive force, isbrought within a system which binds together and unitesthe various essential elements.

One of the most difficult tasks that the Fascist Regimeset out to accomplish was certainly the institution ofthe Ministry of Corporations and putting it to work.The province of this Ministry is very wide and byno means homogeneous. The questions which comeunder the purview of certain general Departments, forexample, those of Industry and of Commerce, are notintrinsically in harmony with those other duties forwhich the remaining general Departments are responsible.In point of fact, the first three are mainly concernedwith the organisation of the labour market, while thelast two deal with certain aspects of production as manifested in various industries, in the mines and in homeand foreign trade, though not necessarily on corporativelines, in which consists the reason for the existence ofthe Ministry itself. Naturally the intention of the legislator in combining under one Ministry all the productiveactivities of the nation, was to give them unity of aim,but the effects of the transformation are not yet entirelyclear. The matters coming under the control of thelast two Departments (Industry and Commerce), whichoriginally fell within the competence of the Ministry ofNational Economy, do not lend themselves to rapidchange; thus it is not possible to state precisely how farthe new corporative mentality, fashioned by the newinstitutions, is reacting on the development of the economic phenomena in question, as these are affected, notonly by the influence of the now dominant mentality, butalso by circumstances of fact determined not merely bynational contingencies, but common to different nationsand frequently also to the world at large.

It is probable, therefore, that the Ministry of Cor-


porations will undergo in the future further transformations which will be all the deeper in so far as the corporative institutions succeed in making their influencefelt on the general organisation and scheme of nationalproduction.

CHAPTER V

CORP01{ATIVE ORGANISATION (continued)-THE CORPORATIVE PARLIAMENT

1. INNOVATIONS IX THE ITAIJAN ELEC1"10RAL SYSTEM

§ I. THE Law of Political Elections, which prescribesthe new regulations for the election of Deputies to theCharacter- Italian Chamber, introduced a marked changeistic features in the composition of the Lower House of~~~?e new the Kingdom of Italy. The organisation ofP:l;~~alElec.the syndical categories and the establishmenttions Law. of the National Council of the Corporationsare factors which have combined to change the relationsbetween the producing classes of the population andhave contributed to bring about the rise of new institutions. The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies,which were characteristic of the Italian constitutionbefore the passing of the new Elections Law, were onlyindirectly affected as a result of the new orientation inpolitics and of the change in the mutual relations, bothlegal and corttractual, between employers of labour andemployees, and between producers in general.

According to the Italian Constitution legislativeauthority, or the power to make the laws, is vested inthe King, in the Senate and in the Chamber of Deputies.The composition of the Senate, the members of whichare not elected but nominated by the Crown, has notbeen modified materially as a result of Fascist legislation.The new law was mainly concerned with the composition of the elected Chamber and did not confine itselfto modifying the method of electing new political representatives, but also laid down new principles regardingthe composition of the electorate itself and the choice of

124

Corporative Organisation

the candidates. The Chamber of Deputies before theadvent of Fascism had upwards of five hundred memberschosen by territorial electoral colleges, but legally representing the Nation as a whole and not the particularprovinces for which they were elected. The substantialdifferences between the old system and the systeminstituted by Fascism are to be found in the qualificationsof the elector and in the adoption of a single NationalCollege in place of the different electoral colleges corresponding to territorial divisions.

§ 2. In previous legislation manhood suffrage wasthe basic principle of the system of elections, a principleN founded on an a priori hypothesis of capacityQ~;lificationsdependent on a minimum age limit. In otherrequired of words, any man of Italian nationality wasthe Elector. unreservedly qualified to exercise the vote,provided that he had attained the age of 2 I years andhad not been deprived of the enjoyment of politicalrights on some penal count or other similar grounds ofincapacity. According to the principle of the new lawthe right to vote at an election is granted to everyindividual who contributes in any way to the productionof wealth. The underlying concept of the new law isthe vesting of all citizens, in so far as they have a partin production, with the right -to choose Parliamentaryrepresentatives. Thus the law confirms the principlewhich is predominant in syndical Italian organisation.Hence: (a) in so far as he is a producer,' each individual is represented by the syndical associations; (b) in sofar as he is a producer, each individual has the right totake part in the choice of his representatives in Parliament; (c) the national Confederations of the legallyrecognised syndicates of employers and of employedpropose their own candidates for the elections.

The total number of the seats in Parliament is almostentirely assigned to the representatives of the abovenamed Confederations. On the basis of these general

1 The term producer is here to be understood in a broad sense correspondingto the definition given in Chapter I, IV, § I. .

I~6 The Italian Corporative State

guiding principles the Elections Law was intended tobe in harmony with the other special legislation of thecorporative system taken as a whole.

§ 3. The adoption of the single National ElectoralCollege represents a fundamental revolution in theSingle Italian parliamentary system. The abolitionNational of the electoral districts, together with theElectoral Change in the principles on which the rightCollege. to vote at an election is granted, are the out-standing characteristics of the new Italian Election Law.The results of the unification of the Kingdom into asingle National College are difficult to estimate, moreparticularly if account be taken of the regional spiritin some cases still existing in Italy and its influence uponthe political electorate.

This is not the place to raise the question whether thedeprivation of each region or province of the right, onthe principle of geographical position, to present itsown parliamentary candidates has proved successful asregards the intention to substitute in the mind of theelectorate completely national political sentiments whereformerly purely local considerations prevailed. It is,however, an undoubted fact that, as a result of the newlaw, those who still retain a personal interest in politicalaffairs have witnessed a shifting of the area of thecontests from a narrow and purely local field to an areageographically far more extensive, even though confinedto the ranks of a single party and directed to ends thatare limited to the economic field. But, as has beenshown in an earlier chapter, corporative order haswidened the extension of the idea of economics asunderstood by the old Liberal school. Thus, even thoughin Italy the basis of the effective electorate and of theelectoral system as a whole is in closest correspondencewith the scheme of the recognised syndicates and ofthe Corporations, for all that the attention of the massescan be directed by way of the occupational organisationsand other institutions of a national character towardspurposes which, although i~ the highest degree economic,


• 12

• 12

• 10

• 1066

5

involve also considerations of an ethical order. Grantedalso that considerations of a character predominantlyeconomic have everywhere assumed a prevalence overmany other incentives to human action, this phenomenonis not specially characteristic of the Fascist corporativesystem but is a feature common to every social movement of our times. The corporative theory is a formof interpretation of the needs of the age, in no sensereactionary but anticipatory, and in harmony with thepresent stage of the historical progress of the ItalianNation, as are other forms of economic and social development in other countries in the world of to-day, differingas regards their history, their institutions and theirracial composition.

The single National College is called together by theKing, each Commune publishing a manifesto in whichthe terms of the decree announcing the convocation arereproduced.

§ 4. According to the law the election of deputiestakes place in three stages as follows: (I) the nomination

Th t of the candidates by the occupational organisaree sages · d b h . .. f · 1

in the nons an y t e Institutions 0 natronaElection importance; (2) the election among the candi-of Members. dates of four hundred deputies by the FascistGrand Council; (3) the approval of the electorate.

The power of nominating candidates is primarily inthe hands of the I 3 National Confederations legallyrecognised. These bodies nominate a total number ofdeputies equal to twice the number to be elected, distributed among each of the Confederations in thefollowing proportions:-

(I) National Fascist Confederation of Farmers. . .(2) National Confederation of Fascist Agricultural Syndicates(3) General Fascist Confederation of Italian Industry. .(4) National Confederation of Fascist Industrial Syndicates.(5) National Fascist Confederation of Commerce . .(6) National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Commerce .(7) National Fascist Confederation of Sea and Air Transport .(8) National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Seamen and

~~~ .


(9) National Fascist Confederation of Land Transport and InternalNavigation. . . 4-

(10) Nat ional Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Land Transportand Internal Navigation Workers 4-

(I I) National Fascist Confederation of Credit and Insurance. 3(12) National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Employees in

Banks and Insurance Offices . 3(13) National Confederation of Professional Men and Artists . 20

(a) The· nomination of candidates is made on behalfof each Confederation by its National or General Council.Nomination In addition candidates may be nominated byof th~ legally recognised institutions and by existing~a~~ldates associations, even if only de facto, provided that~cu;ational they are of national importance and that theirAssociations. objects are cultural, educational, philanthropicand propagandist. Recognition of the competence ofsuch institutions and associations to nominate candidatesis given by royal decree on the favourable report of aCommission consisting of five Senators and five Deputies,nominated by their respective Houses. The Confederations and institutions, within a fixed period in any caseof not less than twenty nor more than forty days, propose the names of their candidates to the Secretariat ofthe Fascist Grand Council.

(b) The Fascist Grand Council is a body of a politicalcharacter which wag established after the Fascist Revo-Selection by lution with Mussolini as President and thethe Fascist Secretary of the National Fascist Party asGrand Secretary. Its membership consists of theCouncil. fi · f h F · drst organIserS 0 t e .. ascist. movement anof the March on Rome, of the Council of Ministers andof certain other personages, pre-eminent by reason of theplace that they oc~upy in the political life of the countryand of the services they have rendered to the Regime.The Fascist Grand Council to-day ranks with the Senateand the Chamber of Deputies as one of the constitutionalState organs~ Its decisions, although they have notthe force of law, influence and at times actually settlethe general principles of the policy of the Nation. Inaddition the Grand Council draws up and keeps posted


for submission to the Crown the list of persons qualifiedto succeed, when the occasion arises, to the post of theHead of the Government and has also, as has just beenobserved, certain powers as regards the composition ofthe Chamber of Deputies.

The law provides as follows:-

The Grand Council prepares the list of persons nominated asDeputies, the names being duly taken from the schedule of candidates and also from outside this schedule, when it is necessary toinclude in the list persons of established reputation in science,literature, art, politics and in the fighting services, who may havebeen omitted from the roll of candidates. (See Art. 527, Decreeof 2 September 1928, No. 1993.)

(c) The list drawn up by the Grand Council is presented for the approval of the electorate, which it isApproval assumed will either accept or reject en bloc theby the names submitted by the Government.Electorate. .. The brief statement given above shows thatthe great body of Italian citizens, in so far as they participate in the productive activities of the Nation, is given thefaculty of co-operating in the election of deputies in atwofold manner. In the first place it takes part, withinthe syndicates, in the election of the representatives ofeach particular occupational category and thus of thegoverning body of the Confederation, the body responsiblefor the choice of parliamentary candidates. Secondly, itacts directly through its approval (or otherwise) of thelist of the nominees of the Grand Council made on therecommendation of the occupational associations.

II. THE MACHINERY OF THE ELECTION

§ I. Every citizen who has a right to vote must beinscribed on the electoral lists. These are schedulesThe Lists containing the names of all who have the rightof Electors. to the vote as being: (a) resident in a certainarea and duly enrolled in the register of the fixed population and thus officially reckoned among the electors ~


(b) not included in previous lists and schedules butincluded in the present lists on their own request.

The lists of persons entitled to vote are kept postedyear by year in every commune of the kingdom byincorporating therein officially the lists of: (a) the employees who receive a salary, wages or other form ofcontinuous" remuneration, which is a charge on thebudget of the State or of the provincial administrationsor of other institutions legally dependent on the StateAdministration; (b} of persons who have received a passport entitling them to take up employment in foreigncountries; (c) of employers and employed of the male sex,not less than 2 I years of age, liable for payment of thesubscription to their syndicate and represented by thelegally recognised syndical associations; (d) of the contributors of the sum of not less than 100 liras per annumto the State taxes and the provincial and communal rates.

The limit of age referred to above may be reducedfrom 2 I to I 8 vcars in the case of an elector who ismarried or a widower with a family.

As has been observed, the electoral lists contain thenames of citizens who have emigrated. Such personsare considered as constituting a national group outsidethe boundaries of the mother-country, and in their regardit is permissible to waive the condition of residence,though the other qualifications for electoral competenceremain identical with those expected in the case of othercitizens within the kingdom.

§ 2. Every province possesses a provincial ElectionCommission which: (a) takes account of all the workProvincial performed in each Commune in connectionElectio~s. with the. preparation of the lists of electors;Commlsslonso(b) decides on the appeals that may be madeby any citizen against any inscription, cancellation,refusal of inscription or neglect of cancellation in thelists as drawn' up in each Commune; (c) decides on anyfresh requests for inscription or cancellation with whichthey may be seized directly; Cd) eliminates from the listsproposed in each Commune the names of citizens im-


properly inscribed and reinserts any names which havebeen improperly cancelled, even in cases where no appealor request has been made.

The provincial Election Commission consists of thePresident of the standing Court of Justice of the provinceor of the Court which has jurisdiction therein, of oneCouncillor of the Prefect's Department and of threemembers with two proxies who are appointed annuallyby the Prefect from among the electors of the provinces.Every citizen has a right to take personal action in theCourt of Appeal against the findings or decisions of theprovincial Commission.

§ 3. Each Commune is divided into sections for thepurposes of its work in connection with elections. As aElectoral rule not more than eight hundred nor less thanSections. one hundred persons inscribed in the listsbelong to each section, the grouping being by preferencemade in accordance with the situation of the inhabitedareas. If reasons of situation so require, a section maycontain fewer than a hundred inscribed persons. Thesection lists are used for the identification of the electorsand the control of the persons actually voting.

§ 4. The voting itself is carried out with two kindsof voting papers bearing the sign of the lictor's fascesVoting and the words: "Do you approve the list ofPapers. the Deputies selected by the National FascistGrand Council?" The presiding officer of the pollingstation hands the elector two voting papers, stamped onthe outside and showing the number of the section.The outer side of the two voting papers is blank andinside one of them contains a reproduction of the coloursof the national flag and the answer "Yes" to the questionquoted above, while the other, which is quite blank,contains the answer "No." The elector chooses thevoting paper he prefers from the two handed to him,takes his place in the voting booth, folds the voting paperand hands it to the presiding officer who, in his presence,deposits it in the ballot-box.

§ s. The Court of Appeal at Rome, consisting of the


First President and four Presidents of Section, is con-National stituted a National Elections Bureau. TheElections Court of Appeal declares as approved all theBEu

lre~u and Deputies nominated by the list which shows

ecnons on 1 b·· d h .alternative at east a are majority an announces t errLists. election. If the majority of the votes dulyrecorded is,,.,.j.n opposition to the list, the Court declaresthat the list is not approved. An equality of votes istaken as signifying the approval of the list. The lawstates as follows:-

'Vhen the results of the election show that the list of the personsnominated as Deputies is not approved, the Court of Appeal atRome orders by its own decree fresh elections with alternativelists of candidates and fixes the date of polling not earlier thanthirty and not later than forty-five days from the date of thedecree. . .. At the new election lists of candidates may be presented by all associations and other organisations which have fivethousand members who are electors regularly inscribed on theelectoral lists. (See Art. 88, Royal Decree of 2 September 1928,No. 1993.)

The lists containing the family and first names of the candidatesmay not include more than three-quarters of the number ofdeputies to be elected.

In no case maya candidate's name be included in different lists.(See Art. 89, Royal Decree of 2 September 1928, No. 1993.)

The Court of Appeal at Rome, constituted as a NationalElection Bureau in the manner indicated above ... makes thecount of the votes cast for each list and announces the result ofthe voting. The candidates on the list which has obtained themajority of votes are declared elected. . .. The places reservedfor the minority are distributed between the other lists in propor..tion to the number of votes recorded in favour of each. (SeeArt. 99, Royal Decree of 2 September 1928, No. 1993.)


III. OBSERVATIONS ON THE CORPORATIVEPARLIAMENT

§ I. The consolidated text of the Political ElectionLaw contains a number of other detailed regulations

Ch t_ respecting the qualifications necessary in the

arac er f · d I he nenaltiistic Features case 0 deputies an e ectors, t e pena tICS toof the New which persons contravening the regulations laidChamber. down by the law are liable, and also variousrules regarding the preparation of the lists, the methodsof giving effect to the law itself, etc. All these questionsmay be considered as lying outside the present purpose,which is to give the reader a general idea of the characteristic features of political elections under the FascistRegime. Undoubtedly the law clearly reflects the revolutionary character of the event by which it was inspired,inasmuch as it bases the elections rather on the principleof a qualitative selection than on the competition ofpolitical parties, as was the case during the past in Italyitself and is still the case in other countries.

It would be difficult to determine the relationshipbetween the efficiency of the new Corporative Parliamentin Italy and that of the Parliaments constituted ondifferent basic principles in other countries. The FascistParliament has been at work for about five years and inItaly only, whereas the Parliaments in other countrieshave been functioning for many years under timehonoured systems, so that they have been able clearlyto define their own powers and accurately to determinetheir proper field of action.

The Fascist Parliament has found in the new politicallife of Italy other organs which are of special importancepolitically, as, for example) the Grand Council, whichhave in a certain sense diminished the influence and theinitiative of the parliamentary institution. If, however, itis legitimate, though only in passing, to hazard a comparison between the working of the present CorporativeParliament and that of the legislative work of the ItalianParliament during the post-war period before the Fascist.

I 34 The Italian Corporative Stale

system came into being, it will be clearly seen how thestruggles between parties and parliamentary cabals ofthat time prevented Parliament from having any uniformpolicy or clear vision as regards its specific problem, takinginto account the interests of the Nation as of a singlewhole to be safeguarded and advanced, more particularlyin the economic field. Furthermore, the Corporative Parliament appears to be not so much a body for initiatinglegislative measures, using the term in its wide politicalsense, as a large committee made up of elements withtechnical points of view closely connected with theinterests of the occupational groups in which they havetheir origin.

It was, however, easy to anticipate that such would bethe results of the law now under ~ consideration andundoubtedly consequences of this order were foreseenby the legislator. -

§ 2. A certain school of students 1 of Fascist legislationhas raised a doubt whether the law regarding the politicalThe New electorate implies the identification of the legalChamber organisation of Italian society within the Fascistand the. State with its organisation on an occupational~enntdhencplesl' basis within the corporative system. In otherleo ICy d k denreciate the iof the wor s, they see to epreciate the ImportanceCorporative of the corporative system and, in the lastState. analysis, of the occupational associations in thepolitical organisation of the Fascist State, declaring thatthe latter cannot be identified with the Corporative Statealthough containing within itself the .elements of thecorporative system, but that on the other hand theFascist State, taking a position superior to the syndicatesand their organs,. reserves to itself the right to interpretand to further the supreme interests of the nationalpolity. According to this school the above argumentfinds its support in the following characteristic featuresof the Elections Law: (I) That side by side with thecitizen, who becomes a parliamentary elector in virtue of

1 Francesco Ercole, Le origini del corporativismo fascista-s-Politica, pp. 5-36,April 1928.

Corporative Organisation I3S

his membership in the occupational associations, the rightto vote is also recognised in the case of many otherclasses of citizens. Thus the general rule to whichreference was made earlier in the chapter, whereby thecitizen, qua producer, becomes ipso facto the citizenwho has the right to vote, would not tend to becomeweakened; (2) That elected candidates will not alwayscome from the ranks of the syndicates, the fact beingthat other institutions, even though in a minority, havea right to propose candidates, and the Grand Council,which is a body essentially political both in origin andcharacter, and neither syndical nor corporative, is boundto choose candidates outside the lists of the personsnominated by the Confederations.

In the view of the writer, the two features describedabove merely prove that it was not possible, havingregard to the present state of organisation among theoccupational associations of Italy and in some cases theirunsatisfactory working, to construct in its entirety on abasis as yet not tested by experience, an organism sodelicate as a Parliament. Many groups of workers anda number of isolated individuals still escape from themeshes of the net of Italian occupational organisation inconsequence of the manifold character of the variousbranches of productive activity and the difficulties ofenrolment, nor is it possible, for this reason alone, thatthe right to vote should be refused to so numerous acompany of citizens. Moreover, the Confederations ofemployers and employed do not completely cover intheir own memberships all the ramifications of the productive work of the country. The persons employed bythe State or by the institutions which depend on theState, the holders of inscribed shares, individual contributors to State funds through the payment of taxesare not included among the members of the occupationalassociations; it is also a matter of common knowledgethat there flourish within the Nation a number of socialwelfare and educational movements, which have a rightto a voice in its legislative assembly even though they.


cannot be said to come directly within the ambit of any.occupational classification. It is, however, readily understandable that the Fascist Government, which is revolutionary in character, and of which the tendency is tochange the relations between the social classes in theItalian Nation in accordance with a new set of principles,should enttgst a political organ, the outcome of theRevolution itself, with the task of filling the gaps whichundoubtedly would be left by the corporative organisation for the reasons given above, if parliamentary representatives for all groups working within the countryshould be nominated solely by this organisation.

In conclusion, it would appear that the corporativeorganisation must be considered as an integral transformation of the concept of the State. By limiting, inaccordance with the views of certain critics, the scope ofthe corporative system to the" organisation of the occupational groups and not identifying the legal organisationof Italian society within the Fascist State with its organisation on an occupational basis, the political value ofthe system would be diminished. Hence the integraltransformation of the concept of the State is impeded inso far as the existence of active forces or tendenciesoutside corporative syndicalism is admitted. Thus thetheory of these critics must be rejected on the groundthat it is in contrast with the spirit which animates thecorporative structure which, in the opinion of the writer,cannot allow the survival of forces which limit its expansion and application to the fullest extent.

The Election Law, which has been described above,undoubtedly contains certain reserves regarding the complete application of the corporative scheme, suggestedby the at present incomplete organisation of the syndicatesand Corporations. It is, however, a law which shows allthe characteristics of a transitory provision, that is tosay it is one of the laws, the spirit of which is not incomplete accord with the corporative principle. If itmakes partial allowance for considerations of a transitorycharacter, it does not on tllat account change or nullify


those principles which the corporative system has nowdefinitely established in the economic organisations ofItaly. Hence, in order that the Corporative Parliamentmay really be in harmony with its distinctive title andwith the syndical laws at present in force in Italy, it isnecessary to wait until the syndicates and the Corporationsexercise to the full their functions as effective and indispensable elements in the productive economic life ofthe country.

PART II

OCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS INPRACTICE

CHAPTER VI

OUTLINE OF SYNDICAL HISTORY ANDPRESENT CONSTITUTION OF THE VARIOUS

CONFEDERATIONS

L GENERAL FASCIST CONFEDERATION OF ITALIANINDUSTRY

§ I. WITH the rise of large-scale industry the first associations of manufacturers were formed in Italy. The

I d . 1 object of this form of association was twofold,n ustria ° d dO 1 I desired ° hAssociations economic an syn lea. twas estre In t e

among first place to establish bodies that would deal with~mploYher~ 1the problems inherent in particular brancheslor tee mea f ° d 11 ° h d °and syndical 0 In ustry, as we as wit customs uties,purposes transport, costs of production, etc., from thebehfowre technical point of view. In the second place ittear. ° he.was necessary to organIse t e manufacturers Inunions capable of presenting a united front in resistingthe workers' organisations, which had become aggressiveowing to Socialist propaganda. This division betweenassociations with economic purposes and associationswith syndical purposes is distinctly seen from the lastyears of last century onwards. There are, for example,associations, such as the Italian Silk Association, formedin 1877, the Paper Manufacturers' Association of theKingdom of Italy, formed in 1888, the Association ofItalian Employers in the Metalworking Industry, formedin 1900, and the National Association of Building Contractors, formed in I 906, all of which set out to supplytechnical and economic assistance to the member firms.But these associations, though national in scope, werelimited to certain categories of industries. It was notuntil 19 10 that the first economic organisation was formed

14 1

If2, The Italian Corporative State

which was truly national. This was the Association ofItalian Joint Stock Companies (Associazione fra le SocietaItaliane per AZioni), which included every kind of undertaking organised in the form of a joint stock company.The main object of this body was to study the moreimportant fiscal problems affecting joint-stock companiesand to saf~uard their interests in relation to suchproblems. 'The association from the first planned itswork on a comprehensive scale, so as to include in itsinquiries the larger economic and financial problemsconnected with the development and the interests ofproduction; it also gave assistance and advice to themember companies.

There are, on the other hand, examples of manufacturers' associations with purely syndical objects, suchas the Manufacturers' Federation of the Province ofMonza (Federazionc fra gil Industriali del Monzese),established in 1902 1 and the Industrial League ofTurin (Lega Industriale Torinese), formed in 1906 (a) todefend the collective interests of the associated manufacturers; (b) effectively to advocate respect for and defence of the freedom of labour; (c) to promote a goodunderstanding with the workers.s This league, in itsfirst month's working, concluded special arrangementsfor mutual support with three powerful industrial organisations: the Industrial Consortium of Liguria (ConsorzioIndustriale Ligure), the Consortium of Employers in theEngineering and Metalworking Industry of Milan (Consorzio di Industriali Meccanici e Metallurgici di Milano)and the Steelworks Company of Terni (Societa delleAcciaierie di Terni). At the end of 19°7 the league,which alreadyn~mbered 290 members employing50,000 workers, promoted the formation of the firstmanufacturers' Federation established in Italy withsyndical purposes. The Industrial Federation of Pied-

1 The objects of this Federation were, in the main, syndical, but the studyof economic problems bearing on the relations between capital and labour wasnot neglected.

I La LegaIndustriaie, Bollettino, Ye~r I, No. I. Turin, 1907.

Outline of Syndical History

mont (Federazione Industriale Piemontesei comprised, inaddition to the Industrial League of Turin to which itowed its origin, the Industrial League of Biella (LegaIndustriale di Biella), the Valle.Sessera Industrial Association (Associazione Industrials di FaIle Sessera), the ValleStrona Industrial Association (Associazione Industriale diValle Strona) and the Valsesia Industrial Association(Associazione Industrialc di J7alsesia).

This movement was not confined to Piedmont, butwas more or less common to all the manufacturing districts of Italy; thus, for example, in the Province ofMonza, an industrial Federation was constituted havingpurposes similar to those of the Federation of Piedmont.In I 9loa Confederation of the various existing Federations was established at Turin in order to enable themanufacturers of the different region·s to present a unitedfront to the pressure of the working class, whose agitations, taking almost always the form ofa breach of thelabour contracts and a demand for fresh concessions,disturbed the rhythm of production. The syndical purpose remained the sole reason for the existence of theConfederation, but the area of operations was wider thanthat of the earlier associations.

§ 2. It was not until after the war that the first generalindustrial organisation of a national character was formed

Thfor economic and at the same time syndical

e Con- T f bl · 1federation of purposes. wo types 0 pro ems were main yIndustry engaging the attention of Italian manufacturers:after agreement with the workers and the relationsthe War. · h h S · h a vi btainiWIt t e tate WIt a view to 0 tainmg customslegislation and internal legislation favourable to thedevelopment of industry. The need of a syndical organisation was felt on account of the general uncertainty inindustry during the period immediately following thewar, and the conviction was becoming general amongthe manufacturers that self-organisation was necessary.The Confederation had to face the problem of establishing a systematic organisation of all the manufacturers,Hence it was not sufficient to co-ordinate the present.


organisations and, accordingly, this body was obliged,while taking into consideration the existing facts, tolay down a policy for the organisation of all categoriesand of all regions. The main problem was thereforethat of bringing within its ambit the policies which hadgiven rise to the organisation of these associations whichwere to beesme affiliated to the new body. The Confederation was, accordingly, at the time of its formation,divided into two sections: (a) Economic; (b) Syndical.

The first of these collects all information of a generalcharacter and makes representations to the Government,sometimes collaborating with it in formulating or inamending financial laws and laws relating to customs,This Sezione Economica was amalgamated with the existing Association of Joint Stock Companies, so that itseconomic research wor.k is carried out in the interestsof both bodies. Owing to 'the legal form assumed bythe greater number of industrial undertakings in Italy,almost all the employers had become members of theAssociation of Joint Stock Companies, so that it was anobvious course closely to link its work with that of thenewly formed Confederation of Industry.

The Syndical Section, developing independently within the Confederation, studies and assists in the solutionof problems concerning the relations between manufacturers and their dependants, and, in general, dealswith all questions of social legislation. The Sectionincluded from 1922 onwards many federations dividedaccording to their respective activities, such as theNational Federation of Insurance Companies (FederazioneNazionale Imprese Assicuratrici), the Italian Federation ofMining Firms and Firms operating in Quarries andPeat-bogs (Federazione Italiana Esercenti Miniere, Cave eTorhiere), the Federation of Engineering and Metalworking Industries (Federazione Industrials Meccanici eMetallurgici) , the Federation of Italian Shipowners(Federazione Armatori Italiani),l and various territorial

1 See the 192 2 Year Book of the Contederazione General« dell' Industrialtaliana. Rome, 1922.


associations to which reference has already been made inconnection with the Industrial Federation of Piedmont.

The General Fascist Confederation of Italian Industrystands out among the various Confederations as one ofthe most compact and best organised. This is due tothe experience by this time acquired by its officers, whichdid not, even with the coming of Fascism, undergo anyfundamental change. Moreover, its constitution is influenced by the fact that it arose in the time of classsyndicalism among the employers for the defence oftheir own interests. A logical outcome of this originis the concentration of power in the hands of the administration. This is indicated in the rules and stillmore clearly in practical working. The persistence ofthis policy is explicable, moreover, even in the latestperiod of development of the Confederation. Thedifficulties caused by the economic crisis of recent yearshave rendered necessary solidarity and unity of viewson the part of the whole class of employers, while theincreased recognition of the rights of the other categories concerned in production has imposed on themanufacturers a watchful attitude in the defence of thepositions hitherto held by them.

§ 3. The organisation of the employers in Italianindustry is at present constituted by:-Present One. Confeder~tion, the General Fascist Co~Constitution federation of Italian Industry, and many terrtof the <;on- torial associations covering the whole kingdom,federation. various contiguous provinces, a single provinceand even smaller areas specially defined and characterisedas special centres of important industries. To theseassociations belong firms and individuals carrying on anyform of industrial activity, or some particular branch.In this case the association is called a category-association.

Thus there are:-(a) Four national associations;(h) Eight mixed inter-provincial associations;(c) Forty inter-provincial category-associations ;(d) Seventy provincial associations;


(e) Three local associations, in which many industriesare concentrated;

(f) Forty-one national category-associations dividedinto ten groups of fundamental industries.

(a) The six national associations are:-I. The Independent Fascist Federation of the Artisan

Communities of Italy (Federazione Autonoma Fascistadelle Comunita Artigiane d'Italia). This Federationincludes all the workshops and less important undertakings engaged in- industrial production;

2. The National Fascist Association of Managers ofIndustrial Firms (Associazione Nazionale Fascista detDirigenti di rlziende Industriali);

3. The National Fascist Association of NewspaperPublishers (Associazione Nazionale Fascista Editori diGiornali) ; .

4. The National Fascist Association of MunicipalisedUndertakings (Associazione Nazionale Fascista delleAzienle Municipalizzate).

(b) The mixed inter-provincial associations take suchnames as, e.g., the Industrial Unions of Latium, ofLiguria (Unioni Industriali del Lazio, della Liguria), etc.

(c) The inter-provincial category-associations generallygroup the electrical industries or the owners of houseproperty, branches of industrial activity usually involvingimportant special interests. Thus there are, for example,the Regional Group of the Electrical Companies ofPiedmont (Gruppo Regionale Imprese Eieuriche del Piemonte), the Fascist Association of House PropertyOwners of Liguria (Associazione Fascista fra Proprietaridi Fabbricati della Liguria), etc.

(d) The provincial associations, which have beenformed in most of the provinces of Italy, take suchnames as the Mixed Provincial Industrial Unions ofthe Province, of Alessandria, of Ancona (Unioni Provinciali Miste della Provincia d'Alessandria, di Ancona),etc.

(e) The local associations, called Local IndustrialUnions (Unioni Industriali Localz), exist only in the


districts of Biella, Prato and Intra, three importantindustrial districts.

(f) The national category-federations, such as theNational Fascist Federation of the Wine and LiqueurIndustry (Federazione Nazionale Fascista dell' Industriadei Fini e Liquori) or the National Fascist Federation ofthe Mining Industry (Federazione Nazionale Fascismdell' Industria Mineraria), are divided into ten categoriesof industries such as the Farming and FoodstuffsIndustries (Industrie rlgricoie ed Alimentari), ExtractiveIndustries (Industria Estrattivc), etc.

§ 4. The General Fascist Confederation of ItalianDevelopment Industry was established at the end of 1926.of the, , The table here reproduced shows the developOrganisation'ment of this confederation in the first sixyears of its activity.

Firms WorkersYear, Represented. Employed,

1926 · 93,67 0 2, 10 5,0001927 . . 102,68 I 2,341,8661928 · · 108,85 1 2,476,5301929 · · 131,341 2,621,6691930 • • 131,84° 2,721,3° 31931 · · 117,375 2,429,526 11932 . . 117,630 2,160,652

The census carried out in October 1927 by theCentral Institute of Statistics (Lstituto Centrale di Statistiea) shows that there were in Italy 623,640 industrialundertakings in connection with which 3,486,88 I personswere employed. Comparing the number of firms represented by the Confederation with the total number offirms at the end of 1927, it appears that only one-fifthof the existing firms have become members. On theother hand, comparing the number of persons employedby the firms represented with that of the personsemployed as shown by the census of 1927, it is seenthat the firms represented contained more than onethird of the total. Consequently the firms that are not

1 Confederazione Gmerale Fascista dell' Industria Italiana, Annuario 1930,p. 313, and 1931-3~, p. 220. Rome, Tipografia Castaldi.


members of the Confederation must necessarily be thosein which a very small number of persons is engaged.In fact, among the industrial firms enumerated in thecensus are included many workshops which are managedby a few individuals, as also some thousands of smallundertakings very difficult to assign with any degree ofaccuracy te-the Confederation of Industry other thanto that of Agriculture or of Commerce.

The number of workshops shown in the census of1927 was 480,000, and, at the end of 1929, 206,000 wereaffiliated to the National Federation of Small Industries(Federazione Nazionale delle Piccole Indus/rie), now calledthe National Federation of Artisan Communities ofItaly, through their own provincial secretariats.'

The organisation of the Confederation has developedalmost uniformly throughout the country. Even insouthern Italy and the Islands, where industrial centresare fewer and contain a smaller number of employedpersons per undertaking, the membership has grownproportionately pari passu with the membership innorthern Italy. The following table shows the relationbetween the firms which are members of the territorialassociations and the firms represented in the threegeographical divisions of northern, central and southernItaly as at the end of 193 I :-

---- -----------_...--_._-_._-~

Firms belonging toTerritorial Associations.

Firms Represented.

Number Number of Work- Numberof Firms. ers .reported for of Firms.

syndical purposes.

Number of Workers reported for

syndical purposes.

Northern Italy 39,062 1,4-°2,54-9 60,896 1,63 1,115

Central Italy 16,670 311,343 26,7 28 387,6 19Southern Italy. 14,3 14 29°,579 29,464- 395,3 68

---~_ • .-_ .... ' .... a _.

70,046 2,004,47 1 I 17,088 2,4 14,102

1 Op~ cit., P: 3I S.

Outline of Syndical History 149

The table clearly shows that the member firms employ a much larger number of workers than those whichare merely represented. Hence the more importantfirms participate to a proportionately greater extent inthe corporative organisation than the smaller. In fact,these industries employ the largest number of workersin Italy.

II. NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FASCISTSYNDICATES OF INDUSTRY

§ I. The history of the syndical organisation ofindustrial workers in Italy can hardly be told in theItalian brief notes which are all that can be given inWorkers' the present study. The reader may be reOrganisation ferred to the information already provided in~fo~ Section II of Chapter I when speaking of thetear. General Confederation of Labour and of theorganisations that preceded it. Here it is desired toindicate and compare the development of the varioussyndical organisations of industrial workers.

The socialistic doctrine that was preached throughoutItaly by a small band of intellectuals at the end of thelast century gained adherents among the workers andfor the first twenty years of the present century it wasthe fundamental idea which animated their organisations.

These Socialist organisations had their headquartersat the Chambers of Labour and the National Federations

S "1"" of Industrial Workers. The Chambers ofocia isnc.Labour formed groups of the small leagues

within a certain district and owed their very generalsuccess to their community of principles and methods.The National Trade-Federations were less successfulbecause of the great diversity of economic conditionsand of industrial development that exist between different regions in regard to each particular trade. Thefirst Chambers of Labour were formed in the last decadeof the last century: in 1890 the Syndical Chamber of ,

I SO The Italian Corporative State

Labour of Piacenza, in 189 I the Chambers of Labourof Milan and of Gragnano, in 1892 those of Venice,Pavia and Rome, in I 893 those of Parma, Bologna(syndical), Cremona and Florence.' They were mostnumerous and had the largest membership in northernItaly and particularly in Romagna, Emilia and Lombardy. ~ National Trade-Federations which arosein the first years of- the present century attained theirgreatest numerical strength towards 19°8-9. After thisdate they showed- a certain decline in almost all categories except those connected with the public services,such as railwaymen and seamen. Broadly speaking,the Federations were the stronger, not only in membership but also in associational solidarity, the more highlyspecialised or the more strictly localised were the industries (printing, metalworking, etc.) to which theirmembers belonged.

The Catholic organisations, the existence of whichwith deliberate syndical aims also goes back to the endCatholic. of the last century, came next after the Socialist

organisations in point of time and in numbers.The Catholic workers' organisations were also calledoccupational unions, labour leagues or labour unions,and were referred to generically as Catholic bettermentorganisations. The first workers' betterment organisation in industry was formed at Monza among the textileworkers in I 894, the second at Chiari among the skilledcraftsmen and workers in silk factories in 1897. Butonly towards 190 I -2 and later in' 1908-9 did theCatholic betterment associations with a considerablemembership become relatively numerous, though theirstrength was never comparable with that of the Socialistassociations. Lombardy is the region where the largestnumber of Catholic organisations was formed; it wasfollowed, at a certain interval, by Venetia, Sicily andPiedmont. Before the war only two national CatholicTrade-Federations had been constituted: the Syndicate of

1 Ministera Agricoltura Industria e Commercio, Statistica delll OrganiU(l'K,;onidi lavoratori al s" Gennaio 1913,l>P. 80-101. Rome, 1914.


Catholic Railwaymen (Sindacato Ferrouieri Catto/ic,,) andthe Italian Textile Syndicate (Sindacato Italiano Tessile),of which the membership reached a maximum of 6,562in 191 1 but declined to about half of this number in19 1 3.1

Both forms of syndicalism, Socialist and Catholic,included, side by side with the occupational bettermentassociations, other institutions which supported thesyndical movement and might be considered as nucleiand pioneer influences for the further development ofthe movements themselves. There were thus on theone hand co-operative societies, employment bureaux,socialist libraries, various forms of rural banks and, onthe other, Catholic co-operative societies, Catholic ruralbanks and Catholic popular banks. The transformation from purposes of mutual benefit to purposes ofsocial betterment and of occupational defence, frequently to be observed in the story of the occupationalassociations, is again to be remarked in the Catholicassociations. In these associations 90 to 99 per cent I

of the members were workers. The Catholic associations were distinguished from other occupational associations in general, and especially from the Socialistassociations, by a less bitter antagonism in their relationswith the employers. In the various rules there may benoted a constant tendency to arbitration, the right tostrike being excluded except in extreme cases. Up toI 90 I there are even to be found exampIes of mixedassociations of workers and employers."

A feature which calls for notice in the history of thesyndical organisation of the workers in the years precedingI d d the war is the increase of isolated leagues. Siden epen ent, by side with the Socialist and Catholic organisa-

tions there came into being in 1912 and 1913 workers'associations of a purely ad hoc character, without delib-

lOp. cit., p. 12.1.

I Minister» Agricoltura Industria t Commercio, Le organizzaR:ioni operaitcattoliche in Italia, P: 147. Rome.

lOp. cit., p. xxviii,


erate political bias or economic foundation, but simplyfor election purposes on the occasion of the extensionof the franchise. The isolated leagues were strongestamong agricultural labourers and industrial workers,and were less numerous in the north than in the south,where the workers were more often used as a weaponin politicss contests. But the formation of isolatedleagues was a matter of small moment, and even during1914 a large number disappeared.

Before discussing the phases of the syndical strugglein the period following the war, it is well to note thatin the two years 19 I 2 and 1913 the increase of membershi p in the Socialist leagues was 6· 10 times higheramong industrial workers than among agriculturallabourers.' "fhe organisation of the latter seemed tohave reached saturation-point and accordingly to havebecome stabilised. The rapid changes to which theindustrial classes are subject do not affect agriculturallabourers except indirectly, and the membership hadreached the maximum limits for the day labourers whodominate the syndical organisation of the agriculturallabourers, as it is among the day labourers that numericalincreases or decreases occur. It is interesting to observethat, not only did the organisation of the day labourersthen determine, as it still influences to-day, the organisation of the other categories of agricultural workers, butthat it determined also that of the industrial workers.The existence of leagues of unskilled workers, who haveevery reason to desire organisation, made the organisationof industrial workers a practical necessity. The daylabourers-that is, the unskilled labourers-dominate thelabour market, since in the slack season they turn toother occupations. The way to check this tendencywas, therefore, to oppose their leagues by other aggressive leagues. For this reason the leagues of industrialworkers increased considerably in 19 I 2-1 3 in all theregions of the south, where workers' associations aroserather late, and included also Romagna and Emilia, where

1 Statistica delll Organ;zrr,a=?mi di lavoratori, etc. Opt cit., P: 13.


the question of the agricultural labourers' leagues becameincreasingly acute.

On I January 19 14 the situation of the organizationsof industrial workers in Italy was as follows:-

Local organisations inscribed as members of theChambers of Labour .

Organisations inscribed as members of theNational Federations of Industrial Workers .

Catholic organisations .Isolated organisations

Leagues.

1,602

338325

Members.

1 12,287

4°,°°934,012 1

The first two figures for the leagues indicate thenumerical strength of the Socialist organisations. Theisolated associations, though having considerable totalsfalling not far short of those of the Catholic associations,had, for the reasons indicated, far less importance.

§ 2. The war found the syndical associations inindustry making no progress if not actually in decline.

B.. f Many students of labour problems considered

egmning 0 h h kers' .. h d jn varithe Syndical t at t e wor ers organisation a In vanousMovement, regions attained its maximum limit and thatpro~rl~ the progress which was noted in the member-so-ca e. ship of the agricultural labourers' leaguesshowed that category-organisation was extending to thisless advanced class. In noting the occupations of themembers of the various types of syndical association, itis to be observed 2 how the largest number of newmembers was, in general, provided by agricultural andcasual labourers, who showed a preference for theSocialist leagues. Coming to details, it is interesting toobserve that in the years preceding the':war among theassociations which have been here described genericallyas Socialist, the associations properly called Syndicalistseemed to be preferred, particularly in Emilia, Romagnaand Lombardy, regions where the organisation of the

1 Statistica dellt organizft,aft,ion; de; lavoratori al 1° Gennaia 1914, p. S.Rome, 1918.

BOp. cit., p. xiv,


workers was widely spread. The fact, too, that theseassociations, which were so popular among the agricultural labourers and every day acquired more favouramong the industrial workers, better fulfilled the newrequirements of the workers of every category is clearlyshown by their renewed aggressiveness after the armistice, thou~h the objects in view had been somewhatmodified, even more than by the statistics for the yearssubsequent to 19 14, as affected by war conditions. Tothe information already given on the post-war phasesof the resumed organisation among the workers, it mustbe added that the general tendency of the Socialist (notSyndical) organisations and of the Catholic organisationswas towards political action often devoid of any concreteeconomic foundation. '[0 these tendencies, which wereclearly shown in many cases and were not the leastreason why the working class was deluded by the constant activity of agitators speaking from Marxist platforms, from the pulpit or elsewhere, Fascist syndicalism wished to oppose the organisation of the categoriesengaged in production on the economic ground. Thiswork was facilitated by the fact that the Fascist syndicalorganisations exist mainly as economic, side by side withpurely political organisations.

Industrial labour was organised in the Fascist syndicalsystem as a Corporation (the first) in the National Confederation of Syndical Corporations founded, as hasbeen seen, in 1922. Subsequently the industrial workerswere organised in the National Confederation of FascistSyndicates. To this body, which succeeded in 1926the National Confederation, was entrusted the representation of every type of worker. The National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates was composed of sixNational Federations of Workers properly so-called (ofIndustry, of Agriculture) of Commerce, of Banking,of Land Transport and Internal Navigation, and ofSea and Air Transport) and of a National Federationof the Syndicates of Intellectual Workers (FederazioneNazionale dei Sindacati degli In/ellelluali). In corre-

Outli~c of Syndical History ISS

spondence with this organisation, which represented allvarieties of labour, five organisations of the employers,viz., the Confederations of Industry, of Agriculture,of Commerce, of Banking, of Land Transport, wereformed in 1926, and, subsequently, the Confederationof Sea and Air Transport.

With the existence of a single large association whichunited under its regis every branch of labour, the desiredbalance between bodies representing the workers andthose representing the employers was upset. The sixConfederations of employers, some of which were of recent formation and were working- in a hesitating and halfhearted manner, were confronted by the workers groupedtogether in defence of the wages standard. Amongnecessary consequences of this state of affairs were astrong concentration of power in the hands of theofficers of the National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates and a policy inevitably inspired by class interestson the part of the members, who opposed to the variousemployers' associations an aggressive, solid and hostilemass of resistance. All this was contrary to the principles of collaboration on which the Italian syndicalorganisation was based. Such, in broad outline, werethe reasons which determined in 1928 the dissolutionof the National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates andits division into the six National Confederations ofWorkers which, under the present system, are balancedby the six Confederations of Enlployers referred toabove.

§ 3. Industrial Workers are at present organised inevery province in the Kingdom in a Provincial UnionIndustrial of Syndicates of Industry (Unione ProuincialeWorkers dei Sindacati dell' Industria). These Unions,in the . numbering 92 for the whole kingdom, coverCorpo~at1ye and represent all the categories of industrialOrganisation. k · h· The nati 1wor ers In t err areas. e natrona category-organisation is entrusted to twelve Federations, namely:

I. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofWorkers in the Clothing Industry (Federazione Nazional«


dei Sindacnti Fascisti dei Dipendenti dall' Industria dell' Abbigliamento).

2. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofWorkers in the Water, Gas and Electric Power Industries (Fcderazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascistidell' Acqua, Gas, Elettricit{l).

3. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofWorkers in the Foodstuffs Industry (Fcderazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipendenti dall' Industriadell' Alimentazione)~

4. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofWorkers in the Furnishing Industry (Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipcndenti dall' Industriadell' Arredamento).

5. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofWorkers in the Paper and Printing Industries (Federaxione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dci Dipendentidall' Industria della Carta e della Stampa).

6. The NationJ.I Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofWorkers in the Chemical and Glass Industries (Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipendentidall' Industria della Chimica e del Petro).

7. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofWorkers in the Building Trade (Federazione NazionaIe dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipendenti dall' Industria delI' Edilizia],

8. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicatesof Workers in the Mining Industries (FederazioneNazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipendenti delleIndustrie Estrattive).

9. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofWorkers in the Metalworking Industries (FederazioneNazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipendenti delleJndustrie Metallurgiche).

10. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicatesof Workers' in the Fishing Industries (FederazioneNazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipendenti dalleIndustrie della Pesta).

I I. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates


of Workers in the Industry of the Stage (FederazioneNazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipendenti dall' Industria dello Spettacolo).

12. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicatesof Workers in the Textile Industries (FederazioneNazionale dei Sindacati Fasclsti dei Dipendenti dalleIndustrie Tessili).

Each of these national Federations includes thecorresponding sections formed in every province, asinternal organs of the provincial Unions.

Each provincial Union has, as its internal organs,twelve sections-corresponding to the National Federations-provided that all the categories of industry arerepresented in the province.

The sections are divided into Syndicates of Employeesand Syndicates of Workers; their number is not determined a priori, but is fixed according to the requirements of the local situation in relation to the number ofworkers who belong to the specialised branches of eachof the large categories combined in the sections.

Only the provincial Unions and the National Federations are legally recognised associations; the sections,the syndicates and the corresponding communal groups,if such exist, are internal organs not legally recognised.

This organisation of the industrial workers is thefruit of many successive adaptations, all intended tomake the formal structure of the workers' organisationsas effective as that of the employers' organisations. Asa result of the provisions which have led to the presentform, the number of minor local associations, formerlyexisting as syndicates, has been reduced approximatelyin ~he proportion of ten to one in relation to the presentunions.

At the end of 1932 the workers enrolled in the Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Industry numbered1,654,34°. The number represented was 2,160,602for the whole of Italy.


III. NATIONAL FASCIST CONFEDERATION OF FARMERS

§ I. The idea of grouping the Italian farmers inlarge associations, which are concerned with the interests

A iati of the national landed property from theSSOCla Ions • •among agricultural and technical, as well as from theLandow~ers economic and syndical standpoints, had alreadyfordtechndl.cal

1been put forward at the end of the last century.

an syn Ica . . •purposes The associations formed for agrIcultural andbefore technical purposes were not, in fact, remarkablythe War. successful, either as regards permanence ornumber of members. In the course of a few years the"Agricultural Comitia" were formed and then disappeared; they were to have prepared the way for theformation of agricultural chambers, and their objectwas the diffusion of technical knowledge among thefarmers, including a knowledge of the practical applications of modern scientific disooveries to farming. AnItalian Farmers' Society (Societa degli Agricoltori Italiani),founded in I 894, achieved little in the way of practicalresults; it set out to influence public opinion in favourof agriculture, to promote the material and generalwelfare of the agricultural classes, carrying on a workof agricultural technical propaganda while strictly excluding from its programme any political tendency.

The Italian Federation of Agricultural Consortia(Federa.zione Italiana dei Consorzi Agrari) was moresuccessful. It was founded in 1892 and confined itsattention mainly to economic problems. It received thesupport of a number of "Comitia" and was favourablyregarded by many landowners, particularly the smalloccupying owners, .who were alive to the spirit of thetime and well aware of the advantages that the Government of the day was disposed to confer on co-operativesocieties of every kind.

Various farmers' associations were started for syndicalpurposes, that is, with the object of uniting the strength ofthe individual occupying owners to resist the aggressiveforces of the agricultural labourers' syndicates. These


were known as the Agricultural Associations (AssociazioniAgrarie). The most numerous and most aggressive wereto be found, in the first decade of this century, in theValley of the Po, in Emilia and in Romagna, regions inwhich agriculture was more progressive and the classorganisation of the workers more highly advanced.

Socialism made headway among the agriculturallabourers and was successful in organising them in theso-called "leagues of resistance." These, in their turn,were affiliated to a powerful central organisation, theItalian Federation of Agricultural Labourers (Federazione Ita/iana dei Lauoratori della Terra). It is interesting to note that the syndical struggle between farmersand farm workers in Italy was carried on more particularly as between the small occupying owners on theone side and the labourers on the other, while the largerlandowners were very little concerned. This situation,which seems almost paradoxical, if property is regardedas the principal cause of social conflicts, is explained:(I) by the part of champion of capital sustained by therural middle class against the labourers' organisations;(2) by the political activity displayed in Italy before thewar by the large agricultural landowners; (}) by the factthat small occupying owners and tenant farmers-unlikethe large landowners, who were for the most part residentin the cities and only indirectly in touch with their estates-became easily involved in a conflict of interests with thelabourers, and that largely as a result of close contact.

§ 2. The war only marked a pause in this hostility,The Struggle which broke out again more violently thanbetween ever when the agricultural labourers, on theirLandowners return home, attempted under the influence~:ricultural of Socialist and Communist propaganda, toLabourers carry out the programme expressed in theaftedr.theffiWar fateful phrase, la terra ai contadini, or the landan Its e ects hId k Th b havi fon the to t e an wor ers, e e aviour 0 theSyndical landowners in face of the threatening attitudeOrganisation·of the working masses was hesitating andshowed an absence of any common policy. The Agri-


cultural Associations of the Valley of the Po, which werethe best organised, and then by degrees the Associationsof Venetia and of East Lombardy, combined throughaffiliation to the earlier Inter-provincial AgriculturalFederation of Bologna (Federazione InterprouincialeAgraria di Bologlla). The policy of this Federation, whichwas constantly in favour of a defensive programme, undoubtedly bad greater influence than that of the GeneralConfederation of Farmers (Conjederazione Generate degliAgricoltori), which included in its membership not onlythe landowners' associations throughout Italy, but alsoindividual landowners. This body, of which the mainpurpose was to maintain political contact with thecentral authorities, did not have so conspicuous aninfluence on the fortunes of Italian agricultural policyas the Inter-provincial Federation; this was due to itscomplacent attitude in face of the increasing demandsof the workers and to the Parliamentary compromisesin which it found itself involved.

The fortunes of agricultural syndical policy in Italywere decided by Fascism, which again maintained anattitude of resistance and actively pursued the tacticsof the Inter-provincial Agricultural Federation, whenthis body became weakened as a result of the fierceconflicts that took place in 1920 in the province ofBologna. The cause of this agitation was one commonto many other phases of the agricultural conflict inItaly and is to be found in the claim of the labourers'leagues to be allowed to submit for the signature ofindividual farmers a contract drawn up by their ownFederation (Federazione dei Contadini) instead of signinga collective contract with the Landowners' Association.The labourers' leagues proved victorious through theiraggressive and united methods pursued in the face ofthe hesitating attitude of the landowners who, in defaultof a firm policy, relied mainly on the strength of theirlegal position, but had neither assistance from theConfederation nor backing from the Government of theday. But the victory was short-lived, for the land-


owners, who had not found in the Association thatelement of strength which they required in order to beable to treat on a footing of equality with the workers'syndical associations, enrolled themselves in the Fasci diCombattimento and helped to found in 192 I and 1922

the Provincial Federation of the Fascist Syndicates ofBologna (Federazione Provinciale Jra i Sindacati Fascistidi Bologna). This Federation acquired a constantly increasing influence and in the end it became transformedinto the I talian Federation of Agricultural Syndicates,which thus united all the landowners in a single nationalassociation, and brought them under rules of disciplineinspired by new principles. The striking success of thenew syndical associations of farmers necessarily led to aconflict with the General Confederation which had duringa long period represented the farmers throughout Italy ona national basis.

The methods, tendencies and ideal principles of theFederation, which were also common to the varioussyndical associations established by Fascism, were toodifferent to allow the peaceful co-existence of two institutions, both claiming to be the syndical representativesof the same occupational category.

Hence, after two years of indecisive conflict, theItalian Federation of Agricultural Syndicates absorbedthe General Confederation of Farmers, thus transformingitself into the sole national association which monopolisedthe occupational representation of the Italian farmers.This was the logical solution of a series of disputesarising out of two divergent points of view. Whilethe object of the policy of the General Confederationwas to resist the onset of the working classes, the policyof the Federation, starting from the principle of absoluteequality of rights between occupational categories,guaranteed in practice by the existence of an efficientCentral Government, was directed to the syndical andtechnical organisation of the farmers and to the establishment of collaboration between them and the agricultural labourers. It was precisely in regard to agricul-


ture that this collaboration went so far as to result inthe formation of a Corporation of Agriculture (Corporazione dell' Agricoltura) through which the ItalianFederation of Agricultural Syndicates came to beaffiliated to the Confederation of Syndical Corporations(Confederazione delle Corporazioni Sindacali).l

The Corporation of Agriculture (Corporazione delI' Agricoltura) brought together the three factors of production: capital, technical skill and labour, since itsmembership contained the farmers, represented by theItalian Federation of Farmers' Syndicates (FederazioneItaliana Sindacati Agrico/tori-~'.I.S.A.), the experts,represented by the Italian Federation of AgriculturalExperts (Federazione Italiana Tecnici Agricolil--F.I.T.A.),and the workers, represented by the' Italian Federationof Agricultural Labourers (Federazione Italiana Lauoratori L1gricoli---F.I.~.i\.).2

This form of organisation was not maintained in thetransformations that took place in the Italian occupational organisation after 1925. However, the fact thateven then the necessity of this collaboration was realisedshows that in certain rural circles the most constructivepart of the corporative programme was understood andhad been given effect.

§ 3. The Italian Federation of Agricultural Syndicates, after a period of reorganisation which lasted morePresent than a year, was legally recognised on 7 OctoberConstitution 1926, assuming the name of the Nationalof the Con- Fascist Confederation of Farmers (Confedera-federation. · 7\ T • 1 D • d ,J" A · 1 .)zione 1 vazionate r 'asasta egtz grzcottorz.

In accordance with the present system, the Provincial Federation, which groups together and representsall the employers of agricultural labour in the province,is a minor local association. Each Federation containsthree sections corresponding to three different categories: (I) farmers who do not directly cultivate their

1 See Chapter I, Section II, § s.I Giovanni Pesce. La Marcia de; Rurali, P: 101. Rome, Casa Editrice

Pinciana, 19z9.


land; (2) farmers who themselves cultivate their land;(3) owners of rented lands. It may be noted in passing that the expert farm managers have recently beentransferred to the Confederation of Professional Menand Artists (Confederazione Professionisti ed Artisti).The reasons against the extension of the type of theminor local associations beyond the area of a provinceare obvious. Crops and cultivation methods vary considerably from one region to another and the protectionof the interests involved cannot be entrusted to occupational organisations covering too large an area. TheseFederations can, for internal purposes, establish officesfor the improvement of the organisation in the outlyingdistricts.

The Provincial Federations of the Kingdom togetherconstitute the National Confederation.

The ratio between the inscribed members of theNational Fascist Confederation of Farmers and thepersons it represents is, for the whole kingdom, approximately as I to 5. Analysing the variations round thisratio, region by region, it appears that among thenorthern regions, some of those in which agriculturalproperty is very closely subdivided show a lower ratioof membership to the total number of persons represented(e.g., Lombardy, Veneto, Julian Venetia and Liguria), whilein some regions in the south, where large agriculturalproperties prevail, the ratio of membership to personsrepresented exceeds the average ratio. This is the case,for example, in Aru1ia, Calabria, Campania and Sardinia.

At the end 0 1932 the members of the NationalFascist Confederation of Farmers numbered 543,486.The persons represented were about 2,800,000 for thewhole of Italy.

IV. NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FASCISTAGRICULTURAL SYNDICATES

§ I. Socialist propaganda has generally had moretangible success among industrial workers than among


agricultural labourers. It is difficult for ideas leading

S ialisti to social changes to penetrate far among theOCI isnc • I I I b b f hei ·and Catholic agncu tura a ourers y reason 0 t err In-

Movements ferior intellectual and political training, of;m~ng the difficulty of the means of communica~~;~c:ltural tion and of the attitude of the agriculturalLabourers peoletariat towards the relation that binds~fo~ it to the land. Changes in the social com-tear. position of the agricultural classes take placeslowly. The violent manifestations that frequentlyaccompany the movements of the industrial workingmasses are less frequent in agriculture, where theyusually occur only in exceptional periods of depressionand of economic uncertainty. "fhe disturbances in1884 in Polesine and of 1898 in 'Lombardy and inApulia, and the more recent uprisings of 1920-2 I in theValley of the Po, confirm this statement.

The Socialist Party began its rural propaganda towardsthe end of the last century. Its object was to encouragethe institution of agricultural co-operative societies andof leagues of resistance, for the purpose of opposingdisciplined workers' organisations to the employers, tothe employment agents and to the large landowners.These last, caring little for their estates, managed them,or allowed them to be managed on primitive anduneconomic lines. Socialist propaganda took deeperroot among the agricultural day labourers or casualworkers, and, in general, among those labourers whowere remunerated on a system similar in· its main characteristics to that of the wage-earners in industry. Onthe other hand, the more the remuneration of theagricultural workers included payments in kind andtended towards one form or another implying a directinterest in the undertaking, the more such workerscame to be attached to the soil, to desire to own landand to be in practice hostile to the principles put forwardby Socialism. Indeed, from about the beginning ofthis century, in the regions where agriculture was moreadvanced, small occupying owners and tenant farmers,


categories which from the syndical point of view cannotbe classed with any certainty either as employers or asworkers, are seen to be among the first to band themselvestogether in an increasingly threatening manner againstthe agricultural labourers' leagues. On the other hand,it is found that the Socialist Party considers "smalllanded property as a form of agricultural exploitation,which is out of date and is incompatible with the interestsof agriculture and of the general progress of humanity." 1

Although Socialist propaganda had gained a hearingonly in one category of agricultural labourers-namely,that of the wage-earners-on the other hand, the indirectconsequential advantages were considerable for all agri...cultural labourers. The humblest workers were combined in syndical associations, which helped to increasewages and to improve to some extent the standard ofliving. As a result of the increased demands of labour,the large landowners found themselves obliged to grantbetter tenancy conditions and to dispose of part of theirestates, so th.at it may be said that Socialism had insome degree helped to increase the number of smalllandowners. While such in broad outline were thetendencies which the social conflicts impressed on theagricultural workers, reference should also be made tothe special policies followed by the agricultural labourers'organisations before and after the war. The divisionof the Socialist workers into "Reformist" and "Syndicalist" after 19 10 became the dominating factor insyndical life. A section of the agricultural labourers, asalso a large number of the industrial workers, belongedto the General Confederation of Labour, the relationsof which with the official Socialist Party became closer"every day, while a growing number of agriculturallabourers (among the first being those of the Po Valley)formed the original nucleus of the syndicalist organisations,which aspired to secure economic and moral bettermentby direct action and without political compromise.

Side by side with the Socialist movement) the funda-l Socialist Congress at Florence, July, I9z3.


mental organisation of which among the agriculturallabourers was the General Federation of AgriculturalLabourers (Federazione Generals dei Lauoratori dellaTerra), there arose in the first decade of the centurythe Christian-Democratic movement of a type similarto the better-known and more widespread movementsin Gerrnaay and in France. In Italy this form ofsyndicalism did not take on a really national charactersince the area of operations of the organisations towhich it gave rise was confined to northern Italy andparticularly to the Veneto and to the Valley of the Po.The movement, however, merits notice and setting inits proper light on account of: (I) its development inthe period immediately following the war, under thedirection of the Italian Popular Party, among thoseoccupational categories in which Socialism had carriedon a superficial and one-sided propaganda; (2) theunderlying principle of the participation of the workersin farm management; (3) the political activities of theclergy in the direction of the movement itself.

§ 2. These movements were supplanted by Fascistsyndicalism, which set out to give a solid basis toOrigin and the syndical organisation of the agriculturalPrinciples of workers. Its leading motive was the satis-Fsasci~t u faction of the needs of the occupational

yndica Ism hil I f hamong category, W ue a arge part 0 t e super-Agricultural structure of Socialist and Christian-DemocraticLabourers, syndicalism was to be cut away. The threeyears which preceded the successful. establishment ofFascist syndicalism were marked by serious disorderin the country, by frequent strikes;' by the burning of

1 According to statistics published in 1926 by the Ministry of NationalEconomy, there were in agriculture:-82 strikes in 1914, involving 49,379 strikers and equivalent to 481,556 lest

working days;208 strikes in 1919, involving 5°5,128 strikers and equivalent to 3,436,829

lost working days;189 strikes in 1920, involving 1,°45,732 strikers and equivalent to 14,I7o~91

lost working days;89 strikes in 1921, involving 79,298 strikers and equivalent to 4°7,393 lost

working days.


agricultural produce, by woundings and murders resulting from the conflict between the agricultural labourers'leagues and individual landowners or landowners' associations. The agricultural labourers, by adopting thesetactics in their campaign, failed, in spite of overwhelmingsupport in Parliament, to obtain appreciable advantagesfrom the red and white syndicates. Nor can it besupposed that it would have been possible to resolveby such means the difficulties in which the agriculturallabourers were and still are involved. Although Fascistsyndicalism was in the main an urban movement, evenas early as 1920 in the country districts of the provinceof Ferrara, and later in the Valley of the Po, the smalloccupying owners and agricultural labourers began tobe organised in syndical associations. In 192 I thefirst Syndical Chamber of Labour (Camera Sindacale delLavoro) was established at Ferrara. The Congress ofFascist Syndicates of 192 I, at which were represented,together with the various workers' syndicates, manyagricultural labourers' associations of the Valley of thePo, revealed the incompatibility between Fascist syndicalism, the General (Socialist) Confederation of Labourand the Italian (Catholic) Confederation of Workers.In 1922, on the formation of the National Confederation of Syndical Corporations, the agricultural labourersbecame members of this institution through a speciallyformed Corporation. Subsequently the Corporation ofSyndicates of Agricultural Labourers (Corporazione deiSindacati dei Lauoratori della Terra) was independentlyrecognised and was transformed into a Confederationunder the name of the National Confederation of FascistSyndicates of Agriculture (Confederazione Nazionale dei

. Sindacati Fascisti del/'Agricoltura).The ground being cleared of electoral and party

conflicts, the work of the corporative system in relationto the problems of agricultural labour was directedmainly towards these problems in their technical aspects.This orientation must not, however, be understood asimplying any limitation of the objects of syndical organi-


sation, which is not intended chiefly to unite the rurallabourers for the purpose of raising their money wagesas far as possible, such having been the constant tendencyof red syndicalism, but rather to represent this greatlabour category as regards all problems in the nationaleconomic life, in which it is an interested party.Accordingly it becomes part of the business of thesyndical organisations to deal with questions relatingto self-sufficiency in the supply of cereals (the WheatCampaign, battaglia del grano), the reclamation of marshlands, their cultivation and re-settlement for agriculturalpurposes (bonifica integra/e, or comprehensive land improvement), the regulation of internal migration from onedistrict to another according to the requirements of thevarious crops, the use of improved oj methods of cultivation, the adoption on the part of occupying owners andtenant farmers of a certain quota of labour, etc.Admitted that the problem of wages enters very largelyinto all these questions, it must still be understood interms of the principles of the corporative theory. Herethe purpose is to secure for agricultural labourers, andparticularly for those categories among them which areeconomically the less favourably situated, wages commensurate with the new requirements of the times.Such wages must take into account length of serviceand be so paid as to give the agricultural labourer acertain joint interest, the ultimate goal in applyingcorporative legislation to the rural classes being tofoster in them a stable attachment to the land on whichthey work.

§ 3. The organisation of workers in agriculture is atpresent carried Qut through:-Present One National Confederation;Constitution Five category-Federations;of the Con- One national syndicate that of Farm andfederation F E I (1' ° • di A ° d.· orest mp oyees mptegatt t xien e

Agricole e Forestali);Ninety-two provincial Unions.The five National Federations are:-..


I. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofTenant-Farmers who are direct cultivators (FederazioneNazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti degli Ajfituari ColtioatoriDiretti) ;

2. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofShare Tenants (Federazione Nazionale dei SindacatiFascisti dei Coloni e Mezzadri);

3. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofWage-earners and Day Labourers (Federazione Nazionaledei Sindacati Fascisti del Salariati e Braccianti);

4. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicatesof Specialised Agricultural Labourers (FederazioneNazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti delle Maestrantze AgricoleSpecializzate) ;

5. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofShepherds (Federazione Naziona/e dei Sindacati Fascistidei Pastori).

The National Federations are composed of the corresponding syndicates, established as internal organs ofeach provincial Union. The provincial unions areterritorial syndical associations, as they cover all theagricultural and forestry workers of the province.

At the end of 1932 the number of persons inscribedas members of the Fascist syndicates of agriculture was1,659,011. The number of persons represented was2,815,778 for the whole of Italy.

v. NATIONAL FASCIST CONFEDERATION OFCOMMERCE

§ I. The syndical organisations of the employers inLocal and commerce in Italy since the war have beenNational closely associated with the organisations inAssociations industry and the local have been relatively~~~~~ more important than the national or~anisations.Commercial In the first twenty years of this centuryMen before the associations of emplayers were formedthe War. chiefly for the purpose of the protectionof specific interests and were organised 'geographically


and by branches of activity. Thus associations wereformed such as those of the woollen and cotton industries,etc., as defensive leagues for a particular district, butnever as national associations of merchants from whichmanufacturers were excluded or vice versa. On theother hand, the merchants frequently found means tocombine for the protection of their own interests withinthe area of~. a province and in particularly large centres.In Rome, for example, since about the end of the lastcentury there were two associations in which the majorityof the shopkeepers of the capital were grouped: theRoman Agricultural, Industrial and Commercial Association (Associazione Industriale e Commerciale AgricolaRomana) and the General Society of Shopkeepers(Societa Generate tra i Negozianti). In 1897 it wasproposed by the General Society of Shopkeepers, whichwas specifically an association for the protection of theeconomic and syndical interests of every kind of shopkeeper, that the Italian Commercial Federation (Federazione Commercialc Italiana) should be formed to uniteall the associations of merchants and manufacturersand even those merchants who did not belong to syndicalassociations duly affiliated to the federation. Thisfederation was established in 1898, but it was dissolvedafter two years without leaving any trace upon Italiansyndical organisation. As a result of the commercialand industrial Congresses of Florence, Rome and Naples,it was decided in 19°4 to organise a General Confederation of Merchants and Manufacturers. In 19°5 ascheme was presented to the Congress .of Florence forthe formation of a new association, to which the nameof Italian Commercial and Industrial Federation (Federazione Commercials .In dustriale Italiana) was given. ThisFederation, which had its headquarters in Rome, wasentirely dependent on the General Society of Shopkeepers, a sound organisation with a high membership.In spite of the support of the Roman society this bodyhad but an ephemeral existence; its membership wassmall and members' interest was languid except when


important questions were under discussion and particularly when there was occasion to oppose some new billconsidered likely to be harmful to the interests of thecategory. About 1908 there arose employers' associations, typically syndical in character, with an area ofoperations extending beyond the limits of a singleprovince, such as the Industrial League of Turin, alreadyreferred to when speaking of the employers in industry.In 19°9 the Federation of Italian Manufacturersand Merchants (Federazione Industriali e CommerciantiItaliani), at the head of which was Signor Candiani, amember of the Italian Parliament, was established inMilan. This Federation, which was conservative incharacter, found its first supporters among the membersof the Shopkeepers' Association of Milan (AsJociazioneEsercenti di Milano), an institution founded on the samelines as the Society of Shopkeepers of Rome alreadymentioned. The Federation of Italian Manufacturersand Merchants, from the practical point of view, cannotbe said to have had much greater solidity than thedefunct Roman Federation. It had, as a matter offact, no real syndical discipline and no proper rule forthe payment of subscriptions, but the policy of classprotection followed and the frequent opportunities givento this association by Italian syndical life contributedtowards making it more active and efficient than theassociations that had preceded it. Thus in 19°8 theFederation acted as spokesman for the employers,particularly the industrial, in regard to the new law onwork accidents, and in 19 I 3 as spokesman for theemployers in commerce when, under pressure from thelabourers, the principles of the new law on privateemployment were laid down.

By comparison with these national associations, whichwere rarely distinguished by regularity in membershipor by the soundness of their financial resources, thelocal associations in the commercial field, like those ofRome and Milan, were far more truly characteristic.The constant business contacts and the community of


their problems brought about a considerable measureof fellow feeling between the employers in commerceboth in Rome and in Milan. It was as a result of thestrength of these local nuclei that the National Federations came into being, of which, as already intimated,the activities were of an intermittent and limited character. During and after the war, the work of the NationalFederation .was of no particular importance except asregards benevolent activities. A Congress held inMilan in 19 14 to consider a proposal to develop thescope of the Federation, showed the profound differencein policy between the merchants of northern Italy andthose of central and southern Italy. After the war theactivities of the merchant class found expression mainlyin the work of the local associations.

§ 2. With the coming of Fascism it was desired togive to the whole Italian commercial class a compre-Fascism hensive national organisation of the kindand t~e which the Confederation of Industry hadSyn.dIc?1 Or- come spontaneously to adopt. Some of thegarnsan~11 of J

Commercial men who were placed at the head of theMen. movement for founding a Confederation werethe same individuals as had already distinguished themselves in local organisation, and the system followed bythe old Roman Society of Shopkeepers was in part reproduced in the internal structure of every provincialFederation. Undoubtedly the present adverse economicconditions affect all productive activity and commercefirst of all. The employers' organisation set up byFascism is extensive and complex, but, owing to theexceptional difficulty of the situation, it is not yetpossible to appreciate fully the advantages that haveaccrued to the category thus organised and to thecountry at large.

Employers in commerce are at present organised in:One National Confederation, the Fascist National

Confederation of Commerce (Confederazione NazionaleFascista del Commercio);

Fifteen National category-Federations and eighteen


technical committees for the categories not yet ripefor federal independence;

Ninety-two provincial Federations.The National category-Federations are legally recog

nised organisations of a technical character, directingthe activity of all merchants engaged in the same branch,in which experience has revealed the existence of permanent and uniform technical problems.

The National Fascist Federations are:-I. The Federation of Managers of Commercial Firms

(Federazione Nazionale Fascista dei Dirigenti di AziendeCommerciali) ;

2. The Federation of Commercial Agents and Representatives (Federazione Nazionale Fascista degli rlgenti eRappresentanti di Commercio);

3. The Federation of Insurance Agents (FederazioneNazionale Fascista degli Agenti di Assicurazione);

4. The Federation of Stockbrokers (Federazione Natzionale Fascista degli Agenti di Cambio);

5. The Federation of Hotels and the Tourist Industry (Federazione Nazionale Fascista degli Alberghi eTurismo) ;

6. The Federation of Ancient and Modern Art andHandicrafts (Federazione Nazionale Fascista Arte rlntica,Moderna e Prodotti dell'Artigianato);

7. The Federation of the Wine and Oil Trade(Federazione Nazionale Fascista del Commercia Enologicoe Dleario);

8. The Federation of Public Trading Concerns(Federazione Nazionale Fascista degli Esercizi Pubblici);

9. The Federation of the Fruit (including citrusfruit) and Vegetable Trade (Federazione NazionaleFascists del Commercia Ortofrutticolo e Agrumario);

10. The Federation of the Metalworking Trade andthe Trade in Motors, Motor Cycles and Accessories(Federazione Nazionale Fascista del Commercio Metallurgico, Automotocicli e degli Accessori);

I I. The Federation of Bakers and Kindred Trades(Federazione Nazionale Fascism dei Panificatori ed Afftni);


12. The Federation of the Textile Trade (FederazioneNazionale Fascista del Commercia Tessile);

13. The Federation of the Coal Trade (FederazioneNazionaie Fascista del Commercia dei Carboni Fossili);

14. The Federation of the Grain, Pulse, Seed andFodder Trade (Federazione Nazionale Fascista del Commercio dei Cereali, Legumi, Semi e Foraggi);

15. The Federation of the Wholesale Trade inChemical Products, Drugs and Medicinal Specialities(Federazione Nazionaie del Commercia Ingrosso dei Prodotti Chimici, Farmaceutici e delle Specialita Medicinali).

The National 1 echnical Committees are internalconsultative bodies formed for the study of nationalproblems of interest to the categories not represented byNational Federations. They are distinguished, according to the functions of the commercial categories whichthey represent, as "Technical Committees for WholesaleTrade" and "Technical Committees for Retail Trade."These committees take the place of legally recognisedbodies, until such time as the continuity and importance of the problems with which they deal renderadvisable their gradual transformation into NationalFederations.

There exist, therefore, such National TechnicalCommittees for:-

Import and Export Houses (Comitato Tecnico NazionaleCase Import-Export);

General Warehousing and Storage (Comitato TecnicoNatzionale Magazzini Generali);

Timber (Comitato Tecnico Nazionale Legnami, etc.);. Foodstuffs (Comitato Tecnico Nazionale Commestibili

P}qri) ;C;roceries and Preserved Meats (Comitato Tecnico

Nazt!.onale Drogherie e Salumerie).The, .Provincial Fascist Federations of Commerce are

territorial', syndical associations in which firms andindividuals ~\Farrying on business in the province aregrouped. Ti~ are arranged in Provincial CategoryGroups (Gruppi ~frovinciali di Calegoria), corresponding

Outlinc of Syndical History 175

to the various categories already noted as being represented by National Federations or defended and assistedby Technical Committees. For each category, accordingly, a provincial group is formed, except that categorieswhich include only a small number of persons may begrouped together.

At the end of 1932 the number of persons inscribedas members of the National Fascist Confederation ofCommerce was 365,422.

The number of persons represented was 747,884 forthe whole of Italy.

VI. NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FASCISTSYNDICATES OF COMMERCE

§ I. Under the head of persons employed in commerce are included various categories of workers and,First in particular, agents, representatives, travellers,Occu~at~onal canvassers, employees of commercial firmsAs~o~la~ons, engaged in selling (salesmen, waiters, etc.) or;a;;~so~f in administrative work. From this list it seemsMutual Aid, clear that the occupational organisation of~~~n! persons employed in commerce is a difficultP~~:te matter on account of the various ways in whichEmployees. they are specialised and also of the greatnumber of firms engaged in trade who employ onlya small number of persons. This intrinsic difficultyaffects also the possibility of obtaining statistics. Infact, although a considerable number of associations ofpersons employed in trade may be found, there arematerials for their history or for periodical statistics ofmembership in a few cases only. Occupational associations among such persons were to be found as early asthe second half of the last century, but many of thesehad for a long time no distinct syndical character, beingonly mutual benefit associations. One of the first ofthese mutual benefit associations was the General MutualAid Society of Shopmen and other Trade Employees(Societa Generate di Mtauo Soccorso fra Commessi ed


Impiegat! di Commercio), which was established in 1876.Private employees and shopmen belonged to thisAssociation at the beginning of 1905. They formed,within the General Mutual Aid Society referred toabove, a special union known as the Shopmen's andTrade Employees' Club (Unione di Miglioramento IraCommessi ed Impiegasi di Commercio). This club numbered 1,5°0, members in I 9 10 1 and, besides assistingunemployed or sick members, provided legal assistancein case of disputes with employers. The memberswere for the most part persons employed in the saleof drapery and white goods and in the administrationof commercial and private concerns. Shopmen employed in the sale of foodstuffs were weakly represented,either on account of the difficulty of organising thisgroup or because they had mutual aid organisations oftheir own.

Even in 189 I, well before the end of the century, aFederation of Private Employees (Federazione di Impiegati Privati) was formed in Bologna, which came toan end after three years' existence. Next in order oftime came the Federation among the Italian PrivateEmployees and Salesmen, with headquarters at Milan.This Federation differed from its predecessors: (a) bythe large number of its affiliated societies (26 with4,46 I members in 1902) 2; (b) by the strictly occupational character which it was desired to maintain; infact in 1905 the Committee of Management decidedto exclude from the Federation the affiliated societies ofa mixed character, that is, those containing both employers and employees; (c) by its distinct class characterand, in particular, by the socialistic tendency shown in1905) when it was made compulsory for the affiliatedsocieties to become members of the Chambers of Labour.The objects of the Federation extended far beyond thoseof mere mutual aid, as an important feature was made

1 Le organixzasdoni d'impiegati, p. 176. Ministero Agricoltura, Industria eCommercio, Rome, 1910. Officine Poligrafiche Italiane.

8 Opt cit., p. 175.


of the protection of the general and political interests,not of the individual members, but of the class, andtherefore one among the methods adopted was that ofsyndical resistance. The Federation, in fact, helped inno small degree to obtain notable successes for thecategory it represented, such as the weekly rest period,the extension of the law on arbitration to employeesand shopmen and the passing of a Bill on the labourcontract, achievements of quite remarkable importancefor the period. Almost at the same time as this Federation, the National Union of Commercial Travellers andRepresentatives (Unione Nazionaie fra Fiaggiatori eRappresentanti di Commercio) was formed, which limitedits activities to the protection of the two categoriesindicated by its title. The origins of the movement,the objects of the society and the first members wereto be found among the promoters and supporters ofa category-newspaper called II Viaggiatore, which wasfirst published in Turin in 1900. The membership ofthis association was always limited, but it is noteworthyon account of the policy laid down in its programmewhich, for the period in which it was expressed, showsclear evidence of syndical maturity in the officers of theassociation. Many of the movements then in theirearliest stages are to-day the basis of the most advancedsyndical institutions in Italy and elsewhere. In fact,the association, besides the usual objects of solidarity,of the protection of class interests and of legal assistance for members in case of disputes, proposed theestablishment of various forms of sickness and unemployment benefits. A very interesting feature was theso-called "technical funds" (casse tecniche), intended toserve as a sort of pension scheme for the benefit of thechildren of employees, for which an elaborate financialand actuarial programme was put forward by the Union.The legal assistance to members was also particularlyemphasised inasmuch as model labour contracts weredrawn up for travellers and representatives and as theunion made every effort to secure for the occupational


associations the right to represent the category in thenegotiations for obtaining a regular labour contract.

The associations so far described were formed amongprivate employees; in fact, the last-mentioned wasactive only among the members of a very limitedcategory. "rhus up to I 9 I ° there was no powerfulorganisation which could co-ordinate the syndical activities of ali ,"private employees as a whole, nor of Italianemployees In general, whether belonging to private orto public undertakings.

§ 2. Up to 1909, side by side with the associationsjust discussed and many others which, for the sake ofSyndical brevity, are here omitted but which carried!endency on their work among the employees in limited~ th~ ,areas, there was a National Confederation ofo~~~~:s Occupational Federations and Associations oftions before Employees in Public and Private Administhe War. trations (Confederazione Nazionale delle Federassioni ed Associazioni Professionali di Impiegati alle rlmministrazioni Pubblichc e Private). This Confederation hadbecome an independent body about 1903, by separatingitself from a previously existing General Roman Federation (Federazione Generate Romana) which tended to bemerely a mutual aid society and was inefficiently organised. The Confederation was anxious to enlarge thefield of the interests of the employed class, transferringthe struggle to political ground and intervening energetically in political and administrative elections. Itsucceeded in bringing together the various nationaloccupational associations and endeavoured. to form in themore important centres Federal Chambers, to which therepresentatives of the various occupational associationsof the district should belong. The principal questionshandled were the weekly Sunday holiday, the legal andeconomic status of the employees of public bodies, theestablishment of employment bureaux and the formationofco-operative societies, particularly for the housing ofemployees. The Confederation in the practical application ofits programme carried on an active defensive propaganda,


availing itselfof the support of the General Confederationof Labour. In 1909, on the occasion of the Congress ofRome, which was one of the most important held inconnection with the syndical organisation of employees,the Confederation resolved that the organisation of theemployees of private firms, etc., should be separatedfrom that of the employees of public bodies, and thatits activities should be confined solely to public servants.However, in order that syndical solidarity should bemaintained in questions concerning interests commonto both categories of employees, the regulations forthe Federal Chambers approved by the Confederationallowed private employees to become members of theChambers for purposes of administrative policy andco-operation, provided they were organised in regularlyconstituted associations with their own officers andspecial organs. The reason why the separation happenedduring the course of the syndical organisation of ernployees lies in: (I) the homogeneity existing among theState employees in respect of education and of thesocial milieu from which they spring; (2) equality oftreatment in the face of the common employer, that isthe organised collectivity of the public authorities incontrast to the private capitalist who is the employerof the private employees; 1 (3) the general conviction onthe part of the employees of public bodies that throughoccupational organisation they could maintain their ownmaterial and moral rights as against the State betterthan by individual action. This opinion was notgenerally shared by the private employees who, beingfor the most part dependants of small firms and thusthemselves likely to pass into the employing group,considered the objects of the association in the firstplace from the standpoint of mutual and social assistance.It was not till a later stage that the question of salariescame to the front and still later again that questions ofpolitical and syndical organisation became prominent.

The most significant display of the strength of thelOp. cit., p. ZOe


employee class prior to the war was on the occasion ofthe Congress of Bologna held in September 1910, inwhich the representatives of sixty associations took part.This Congress resulted in the formation of the newNational Federation of Private Employees and Salesmen(Federazione Nazionale degli Impiegati Privati e Commessi di Commercio). Some time after the Congress ofBologna, .and by way of indicating the fusion of allthe categories, the Federation began to be called theGeneral Confederation of Private Employment (Con-[ederazione Generals dell' Impiego Privato) by its officialjournal, 11Miglioramento, and under this name new ruleswere approved by a meeting of the general councilheld at Rome, which became, and remained until 19 I 6,the headquarters of the Confederation. After thewar the headquarters were transferred to Milan, themembership increased and its influence on the classof employees and on the public authorities gatheredstrength. In I 9 I 7 the Confederation became affiliatedto the Confederation of Labour. While this wasadvantageous on account of the good relations thusestablished with the working classes, on the other itinvolved the loss of the membership and financialsupport of the National Union of Commercial Travellers and Representatives, of Turin. Other associationstook alarm at some instances of untimely action on thepart of the Confederation of Labour and, in fear ofthe consequences and of the possibility of being heldpersonally responsible, also elected to withdraw. Mention may be made of the Association of Employees andTechnicians in Factories (Associazione tra Impiegati eTecnici di Officina) which established a Lombard Federation of Industrial Employees (Federazione LombardaImpiegati dell' Industria) with headquarters at Milan inconnection with the Bank Employees Federation (Federazione dei Bancari), which had grown in numbers andimportance.

Thus in 1920 the following organisations of privateemployees were to be found side by side: the General


Confederation of Private Employment, affiliated to theConfederation of Labour; the Section for PrivateEmployees in the Catholic Confederation of Labour(Sezione Impiegati Privati della Confederazione Cattolieadel Lavoro); the National Federation of Bank Employeesof Italy (Federazione Nazionale degli Impiegati Bancarid'Italia); the Federation of Industrial Employees andthe National Union of Commercial Travellers andRepresentatives (known as U.N.V.E.R.). These fiveorganisations, although divided by certain differencesin political point of view and as regards methods, insubstance supported in matters of legislation the GeneralConfederation of Private Employment.!

The workers in commerce, after the coming ofFascism, were first organised in the Confederation ofSyndical Corporations, under the Corporation of Commerce. After 1926, when the National Confederationof Fascist Syndicates was founded, they became membersthrough the Federation of Fascist Syndicates of Commerce. In 1928 this Federation, as a result of thebreaking up of the Confederation of Syndicates, wasconverted into an independent Confederation under thename of the National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Commerce.

§ 3. The organisation of the workers in commerce atpresent consists in:-Present One National Confederation, the NationalConstitution Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Com-of the Con- rce:federation of me ~e, . .Syndicates of SlX National category-Federations;Commerce. Ninety-two provincial Unions.

The national category-Federations cover the employeesand workers iu:-

I. Commercial Undertakings for Warehousing andSales (Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti deiDipendenti da Aziende Commerciale di Deposito e Fendi/a);

1 For the information on the private employees' movement after the warthe writer is indebted to the courtesy of Signor Paolo Brugora, charteredaccountant.


2. Commercial Firms and Professional Offices (Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipendenti daEsercenti Atti'vita Commerciali Varie e da Studi Professionali) ;

3. Hotels, Restaurants, Refreshment Houses, etc.(Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti Dipendentida Esercenti A/berghi e Pubblici Esercizi);

4. Bakmg, Pastry-making and Kindred Trades (Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti Lavoranti Panestieri, Pasticcieri ed Affini);

5. Hairdressing and Kindred Trades (FederazioneNazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti Dipendenti da Barbieri,Parrucchieri ed Affini);

6. Street Marketing, etc. (Federazione Nazionale deiSindacati Fascisti l/endilori Ambulanti).

The provincial Unions are internally divided intosyndicates corresponding .with the National categoryFederations,

At the end of 1932 the number of members inscribedin the National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates ofCommerce was 35°,6 32.

The persons represented numbered 650,000 for thewhole of Italy.

VII. NATIONAL FASCIST CONFEDERATION OF SEA ANDAIR TRANSPORT

§ I. The National Fascist Confederation of Sea andAir Transport (Confederazione Nazionale Fascista delleShipowners' Imprese Trasporti Marittimi ed Aerei) had its<?rganisa- origin in the regional shipowners' organisatlno~su~dfore tions ·previously existing and was establisheda er in N bthe Fascist In ovem er I 926.Regime. During the pre-war period the Federationof Italian Independent Shipowners (Federazione rlrmatoriLiberi Italiani), with headquarters at Genoa, was theonly association of this kind. It included in its membership almost all the Italian owners of merchant ships


serving the ports on the Tyrrhenian Sea and some alsoof the ports on the western shores of the Adriatic. ThisFederation was formed in the years in which there werefrequent and bitter disputes between the seamen andthe shipowners. The seamen were organised in theItalian Federation of Sea Workers (Federazione Italianodei Lauoratori del Mare), which had become exceedinglypowerful. Hence it became necessary for the shipowners to form their own organisation for safeguardingtheir proper interests and for self-defence against theoften absurd claims of the seamen.

The Federation of Italian Independent Shipowners,throughout and after the war, continued to work forthe protection of the interests of its members andremained in existence until the present time. It hasnow become incorporated in the National Fascist Confederation of Sea and Air Transport, under the title ofthe Fascist Federation of Owners of Merchant Shipsof the Tyrrhenian Sea (Federazione Fascism degli Armatoridi Navi da Carico del Tirreno), with its membershiplimited to owners registered in the Upper Tyrrhenianports. Immediately after the war a Federation wasformed in Genoa among the large passenger steamshipcompanies under the name of the Federation of ItalianShipowners (Federazione degli Armatori Italiani). Almostat the same time the Federation of Shipowners of theJulian Venetia (Federazione degli Armatori della VeneziaGiulia) was established in Trieste and soon afterwardsthe Federation of the Shipowners of the WesternAdriatic (Federazione degli Armatori dell' Adriatico Occidentale) in Venice itself. The shipowners of theAdriatic ports, who had previously belonged to theFederation of Italian Independent Shipowners, becamemembers of the last-named Federation.

V p to the middle of 1926 these organisations wereaffiliated to the General Confederation of Italian Industry.

It became clear that it was necessary to organiseseparately the Federations representing sea transportand, as already stated, the National Fascist Confedera-


tion of Sea and Air Transport was formed. To thisConfederation, in addition to the organisations mentioned, there was also affiliated the National FascistFederation of Air Transport (Federazione NazionaleFascista Imprese Trasporti Aerei) , representing the companies working the civilian air services. Subsequentlythe Fascist Federation of the Shipowners of Sicily(FederaziQMe Fascista degli Armatori della Sicilia) wasformed to include the owners of merchant ships belonging to all the Sicilian ports.

In 1930 the .Fascist Federation of Shipowners ofContinental Southern Italy (Federazione Fascista degliArmatori dell' ltalia Meridionale Continentale) was established on behalf of the owners of cargo and passengervessels registered in the ports of southern Italy. In thesame year also there was constituted the National FascistAssociation of the Higher Officials of Sea and AirTransport (Associazione Nazionale Fascism dei Dirigentidi Imprese Trasporti Marittimi ed Aerei), in which theadministrative and technical officers of the companies,as well as the captains and masters in command ofItalian merchant vessels, are enrolled.

Steps are now being taken to institute and obtainlegal recognition for a National Fascist Association ofthe various enterprises subsidiary to the MercantileMarine and to Air Navigation (Associazione NazionaleFascista delle Attivita Sussidiarie della Marina Mercantilee della Navigazione Aerea).l

§ 2. The structure of the Confederation is not veryclearly defined as the different organisations with which

D" ti ish it and the affiliated associations are concernedIS mguis - have extremelv vari d econornic reouiing Features ave extreme y vane economic requirements

of the ~on- and are carried on in widely differing areas.federation" The dominating importance of the northernports, particularly Genoa and Trieste, has localised inthese centres many shipping businesses, but as theirinterests cover a wide field it is indispensable to extend

1 Information kindly supplied by Commander Coda of the Confederationof Sea and Air Transport.


the area of the operations of the associations to a numberof districts on the Italian coasts. Thus there are infact three inter-regional Federations affiliated to theNational Fascist Confederation, namely:-

(1) The Federation of Owners of Regular ShippingServices on the Tyrrhenian Sea (Federazione deglirlrmatori di Linea del Tirreno). fro this Federation belongthe associations of shipowners who are mainly ownersof passenger vessels and provide passengoer services)their ships being registered in ports on the TyrrhenianSea or their central office situated in one of suchports;

(2) The Federation of Owners of Merchant Ships ofthe Tyrrhenian Sea (Federazione degli Armatori delleNaui da Carico del Tirreno), to which belong the associations of shipowners whose fleets largely consist ofmerchant vessels, all other conditions being equal;

(3) The Fascist Federation of the Shipowners of theEastern Adriatic (Federazione Fascista degli Armatoridell' Adriatico Orientale), to which are attached theassociations of shipowners owning vessels of any kindregistered in the ports of Trieste, Fiume or Zara, orwhose central office is in one of these ports.

Two minor associations are affiliated to the Federation of Owners of Shipping Lines of the TyrrhenianSea-namely, the Association of Owners of IndependentFleets and the Association of Owners of SubsidisedLines. To this Federation is also affiliated the Association of Owners of Merchant Ships with headquartersat Genoa. Similarly two associations are affiliated tothe Federation of Shipowners of the Eastern Adriatic,the Association of Owners of Eastern Adriatic PassengerShips and the Association of Owners of Eastern AdriaticMerchant Shipping.

The following Federations-namely) the Federation ofthe Shipowners of Sicily, the Federation of the Shipowners of Continental Southern Italy and the NationalFascist Association of the various enterprises subsidiaryto the Mercantile Marine and to Air Navigation-belong


to the National Fascist Confederation of Sea and AirTransport.

Lastly) two large national associations, the NationalFederation of Air Transport, which has already beenmentioned, and the National Association of the HigherOfficials of Sea and Air Transport, are also attached tothe Confederation.

At the ~d of 1932 the number of members inscribedin the National Fascist Confederation of Sea and AirTransport was 1,465, representing 2,038 firms for thewhole of Italy.

VIII. rrHE NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FASCISTSYNDICATES OF SEAMEN AND AIRMEN

§ I. The first compilations of maritime law, havingparticular reference to the position of the workers inSyndical relation to their emr1oyers, date back to theconsequencessecond half of the eighteenth century. Theofthe rules which form, for example, the "Edict onaltered h Shinni d h M .. N· ·

1 t io t e lpplng an on t e antime avigatronre a ns c T " " il A" 7\ Tbetween lor uscany (Editto di Marina e Naoigazion«Shipowners Marittima per fa Toscana"), dated I 748, orand Seamen. the code for the Venetian Mercantile Marine(Codice per fa Veneta Mercantile Marina), dated 1786,and similar compilations of the time, initiate the regularisation of labour relations, by granting to the seamanall those advantages which derive from the explicitrecognition of his rights as a worker, thus making itpossible for him the more easily and' rapidly to obtainjustice in case of the non-fulfilment of agreements onthe part of his captains. On the other hand) the specification of the obligations on the part of the employerslimited their previous responsibilities towards theirdependants, to which a rather wide interpretation hadalways been given.

In the case of seamen the labour contract representeda unique relation characterised by a spirit of collaboration between master and man and by an absence of


fixed rules, while it was almost always verbal and basedon customs determined by centuries of usage.

The underlying reasons for these special features areto be found in the continuous contrast between employersand workers, in the "family" character of the occupation in many cases, in its localisation and in the factthat the workers fall naturally into small groups ascontrasted with the concentration which even in thepast was a distinguishing mark of the manufacturingindustry.

In consequence of the change that took place in theshipping industry as the result of the development oftraffic, of the adoption of new mechanical means and,in general, of the improved organisation of the services,the nature of the relation between the shipowner andhis personnel changed its character. The two partieswere now, on the one hand a single owner often representing a powerful and impersonal company, and on theother a crew consisting of many individuals bound onlyby short-time contracts. These contracts were notsufficient to guarantee continuous employment since,owing to the increase in the average tonnage, the possibilities of employing labour on board were greatlyreduced. At the end of the last century, in consequenceof the industrialisation of navigation, the position ofthe seamen in relation to their employers was worsethan it had been previously. The legal guarantee givenby these contracts served only in part to protect laboursince, instead of being a real advantage as regards theconditions of employment, the contract mainly gives apossibility of the legal establishment of the rights ofthe worker should the employer fail to carry out.. itsterms.

The difficult situation of the workers in the shippingindustry, and particularly the change that had occllrredin the relations between the persons employed and theiremployers, caused the seamen to form leagues in orderto obtain by the union of all their forces the advantagesand the security they had formerly enjoyed.


The first leagues of seamen were founded merely forpurposes of mutual aid in cases of sickness and unemployment and only in the early years of the presentcentury was a deliberately syndical attitude assumed.In 190 I the National Federation of Seamen (FederazioneNazionale dei Lnvoratori del Mare) was formed in Genoa.Its object was to improve the position of the membersby workin~ for the drafting of model contracts of engagement and for the regulation of service on board ship.The first uprising on the part of the workers drove theshipowners to form their own Employers' Federation asa counterpoise to the seamen's organisation. The practical results of the movement were modest enough, consisting in the establishment of an employment office bythe shipowners and the beginning of negotiations betweenthe shipowners and the representatives of the seamen forthe drafting of a new model contract. The wishes ofthe seamen were met to some degree in certain modelcontracts drawn ltp by some of the largest navigationcompanies on their own account.

At this stage a club was formed in Genoa among theships' officers belonging to the Italian General Navigation Company (Societa di Navigazione Generate Italiana),which took specific action of a syndical character, bothby supporting the associative movement among transportworkers and by taking part in strikes declared for thepurpose of obtaining improved conditions of engagement. In regard to this society it is particularly noteworthy that, though its members were drawn from thehigher ranks of the ships' companies; it took actionabsolutely in line with the rest of the workers of thecategory.

The negotiations between the representatives of theseamen and of the shipowners hung fire, so that the seamendecided to strike in order to obtain by force a modelcontract corresponding to their desires. About 1906the more important Italian navigation companies granteda large measure of the demands of the workers. 111spite of this first victory syndical disputes never ceased,


partly because the advantages obtained in practice bythe seamen as a result of the new model contracts didnot fulfil their expectations and partly because only afew of the large navigation companies had acceptedthem, the majority of the seamen thus remaining in theold conditions of insecurity. The numerous strikeswhich occurred after the recrudescence of disputes wereprobably not so successful as the workers had hoped,so that in later years the National Federation of Seamenlargely changed its tactics and "attempted to resumethe method of agreements, either arranged directly orthrough the medium or under the auspices of the Government." 1 -. In 1907 the Federation of Italian Shipowners recognised that the demands of the seamenwere well founded and granted an increase of wagesto the lower grades. In the years preceding the worldwar, during which the tonnage of the Italian Mercantile Marine was continually increasing, various agreements in connection with contracts of engagement weremade by the more important companies and collectivecontracts were arranged between syndical associations,representing the seamen and the shipowners.

The world war did not greatly modify the syndicalposition of the seamen, inasmuch as, besides the modelcontracts, arranged before the war on behalf of theprincipal companies, a model contract was drawn upby the Government on the basis of those previouslymentioned and adopted for the steamships requisitionedby the State. The main factors introduced by the warinto the relations between employers and personnelwere: (a) penal legislation against any persons, whethershipowners or members of crews, who should in anyway have delayed the sailing or hindered the properutilisation of the ship; (0) arbitration for the decisionof wages disputes.

§ 2. The post-war activity of the National Federationof Seamen, now known as the Italian Federation of

1 Enrico Mandillo, II Contratto di lasooro della Genie di Mare, p. 53. Tipografia Nazionale, Genova.


Seamen (Federazione Italiana Lauoratori del Mare), hadSyndical considerable importance in political history andMovement in the history of the organisation of the workersof Italian in Italy. The Federation supported the action~a~n after taken for the annexation of Fiume to Italy, andan~ u:~er the help it gave was decisive. On the otherth~ ~ascist hand, the attitude of the Federation, especiallyRegime. as- seen in the work of its officers, showeditself to be extremely dangerous to Italian shippinginterests since, through its defence of the interests ofits members, it contributed not a little to worsening thesituation of Italian maritime navigation, already renderedsufficiently difficult by reason of the continual fluctuations in the freight market. The Italian Federation ofSeamen was successful in inducing the Government in19 I 9 to nominate a Royal Commission to inquire intothe question of the wages and collective labour contracts of seamen. In 1920 it secured approval for amodel contract, which to this day represents the MagnaCarta of the results attained in this branch of labour.The success of the workers was, however, short-lived.The shipowners, irritated by the continual and exorbitant demands made by the Federation and impelled bythe difficulties of the situation in which the shippingindustry found itself, repudiated the contract of 1920,for which another contract by no means favourable tothe seamen was substituted in 192 I. Within a year,as a result of the policy of conciliation between capitaland labour introduced by Fascism, and through thepersonal intervention of Gabriele d'Annunzio, therepresentatives of the seamen and of the shipownersagain entered into negotiations and drew up two newsyndical agreements for cargo and passenger boatsrespectively, which remained in force until 1924.

As a result of these agreements the position of theseamen was improved, though still remaining in certainrespects somewhat precarious. It was during this periodthat profound changes in the syndical organisation ofthis category took place. At the Syndical Congress of


Bologna, the Corporation of Seamen (Corporazione dellaGente di Mare) was formed by the Fascists with theobject of neutralising the factious activities of the Federation. Through the intervention of Gabriele d'Annunzio,who interested himself in the seamen's syndical organisation, the Fascist Corporation was dissolved, followingon a compact that he made with Mussolini himself.The syndical activity of the Italian Federation of Seamendid not, however, show any substantial change and theincompatibility between the policy of this body andthat of the newer Fascist institutions only seemed tobecome still further pronounced. In 1924 the Federation was dissolved and was succeeded by the FascistSeamen's Association (Associazione Marinara Fascista),which remained in being until 1926, when the Independent Fascist Federation of Sea and Air TransportWorkers (Fcderazionc Fascista Autonoma Adetti ai Trasporti Marittimi ed Aerei) was constituted. By thesesuccessive changes the syndical organisation of theseamen took on a character increasingly in accord withFascist principles. In 1928 the independent FascistFederation was transformed into the National FascistConfederation of Seamen and Airmen (CorifederazioneNazionale Fascisla della Genre del Mare e dell' Aria),so that all grades of persons engaged in sea andair transport were covered by the federal organisation. Fascist reforms on their corporative side stillfurther improved the position of the seaman class. Thenew collective contracts are highly comprehensive anddetailed and provide for every aspect of the servicerelations that bring the seaman and his employertogether. While the conditions of the upper-gradeworkers have not been substantially modified, the lowergrade workers, such as engine men and stokers, haveobtained a larger measure of protection in the latestcollective contracts, whether serving in passenger or incargo boats.

§ 3. The organisation of the sea and air transportworkers has a special character owing to the nature of


this particular class of employment and to the formPresent which the earlier organisations had assumed inConstitutio-i consequence.of the ~on- As a result of the mobility which is thefederation. special feature of their calling it has not beenfound possible to organise the airmen and seamen inassociations with a large number of sub-groups and theyhave therefore been assigned to four main associations.The first three include the sea transport workers andare the following:-

I. The Association of Officers of the MercantileMarine (Associazione Nazionale Fascista degli Uificialidella Marina Mercantile);

2. The Association of Petty Officers and OrdinarySeamen of the Mercantile Marine (Associazione NazionaleFascista dei Sottuificiali e Comuni della Marina Mercantile);

3. The Association of Employees in the MarineTransport Offices (Associazione Nazionale Fascista degliImpiegati delle Comunicatzioni Marittime).

The fourth includes the air transport workers s-s-4. The Association of Employees and Workers in

Air Navigation (Associazione Nazionale Fascista degliImpiegati ed Operai della Navigazione Aerea).

In its internal structure the Confederation is dividedinto two main divisions, the Syndical Division (DiuisioneSindacale) and the Division for Assistance (DiuisioneAssistenziale). To the Division for Assistance belongthose bodies which, in accordance with the law andregulations on. collective labour relations, may beattached to syndical associations for purposes connectedwith social assistance and welfare. Thus this Divisionsets out to provide for sea and air transport workersassistance of a material and cultural order, by the institution and development of benefit funds and theorganisation of facilities for occupational training andgeneral education.

The purposes of the Syndical Division are such ashave already been noted in connection with the syndicalwork of the other Confederations-namely, the study


and solution of problems relating to labour relations,the preparation of the material on which the proposalsfor collective contracts may be based, protection of theinterests and submission of the requests of members, andprovision for the diffusion, interpretation and explanation of corporative principles.

At the end of 1932 the number of members inscribedin the National Fascist Confederation of Seamen andAirmen was 5°,772.


IX. NATIONAL FASCIST CONFEDERATION OFINTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

§ I. In the field of land transport, before the establishment of the National Fascist Confederation of LandTechnical Transport and ofInternal Navigation (ConJederaand Syndical tzione Nazionale Fascista dei Trasporti TerrestriWork. o~ the e della Navigazione Interna), there was noAssociations 1 d· · f .. .for Land rea tra ition 0 organisation, except In con-Transp~rt nection with the larger undertakings.Enterprises. The oldest organisation is that of the railwayand tramway companies, which dates back to 1886. Inthat year two bodies were formed, the Tramway Union(Unione Tramviaria) and the Association of Railwaysworked under Concessions (Associazione della FerrouieConcesse), which were almost immediately amalgamatedto form the Transport Federation (Federazione deiTrasporti), maintaining, however, their administrativeindependence. The private undertakings carrying onlake and lagoon navigation became members of theAssociation of Railways worked under Concessions.

The Transport Federation had its council of management, half of which consisted of representatives ofrailway companies and half of representatives of tramwayundertakings; at the same time, each of the two constituent bodies had its own council with purely administrative functions. The Federation comprised all the rail-


way and tramway companies and the undertakingscarrying on navigation under concessions. The headquarters were in Milan, but from 1920 onwards therewas also a managing committee in Rome. The annualreceipts of the Federation were derived from contributions calculated on a mixed basis of the length of thelines worked by the members and of the traffic returns.The Fe~ration's activities were mainly technical andeconomic and only indirectly and unofficially syndicalin character.

The relationsbetween employers and workers inrailway and tramway companies before and immediatelyafter the war gave rise from time to time to acute conflicts. The railway and tramway workers aimed atobtaining the same level of wages .and the same advantages as had been secured by their colleagues who hadbecome State employees on the railways, and accordinglythey entered upon a determined struggle with theprivate trarnwav and railway companies, until in 1912

the? succeeded in securing the first law on EquitableLabour Conditions. In this law were laid down, onbroad lines, all the accessory conditions of employmentfor the staff and certain conditions relating to insurance,but not the scale of wages~s~Th·~(1, in the event of disagreement between the w'1~1:".1d~ and the employingcompanies, was to be deterl\t\o.t"1 by means of arbitration. The law was further s~\~ ided to guarantee continuity of labour and forbade'. .ie-workers under certainconditions to strike. The application of this law, upto the outbreak of war and afterwards, particularly asa result of the establishment of the Mixed Commissionof Equitable Labour Conditions in 19 I 9, was alwaysinfluenced by political motives, so that, in the opinionof the employers,' the value of the fait, dealing that it sostrongly advocated was largely nullified.

The Transport Federation, on the formation of thefirst Fascist Workers' Syndicates, began to a limitedextent to take action with a view to th- fixing of labourcontracts and took part officially in the negotiations with


the representatives of the workers, this being an entirelynew departure.

The firms which were members of the Federationnumbered 227 in 1926 and it was dissolved in Septemberof that year in consequence of the establishment of theNational Fascist Confederation of Land Transport andInternal Navigation.

The motor services also had their own organisation,the first nucleus of which was established about 1910;subsequently this organisation was divided into tworival associations. At the time of the establishment ofthe Confederation in 1926, the two bodies had a totalmembership of 780 undertakings. The other transportbu;inesses which became members of the Confederationhad not previously possessed any organisation at all.

§ 2. The organisation of the employers in landtransport and internal navigation at present consists of:-

P tO ne National Confederation, the National

resen F· C J:' • f I C .Constitution ascist onfederation 0 Interna ornmunica-of the Con- tions (Confederazione Nazionale Fascism dellefederation. Comunicazioni Interne);

Three National category-Federations;One National Association of Managers of Firms

engaged in Internal Communications and AuxiliaryUndertakings (Associazione Nazionaie Dirigenti di Aziendedelle Comunicazioni Interne ed Attivita Ausiliarie);

One National Federation of Electrical Communications(telephone, radio, etc.) (Federazione Nazionale Fascistadelle Comunicazioni Elettriche), to which individual firmsbelong directly;

Fifteen inter-provincial Unions.The national category-federations are:-I. The National Fascist Federation of Lake and

River Navigation (Federazione Nazionale Fascista dellaNauigazione lacuale e f1uviale);

2. The National Fascist Federation of AuxiliaryUndertakings (Federazione Nazionale Fascista delleImprese Ausiliare), to which are affiliated: (a) forwardingagencies; (0) garage businesses; (c) firms engaged in


loading and unloading goods; (d) railway cleaning firms;(e) agencies for the delivery of letters and parcels;(f) telegraph messengers, etc.; (g) tourist agencies and, ingeneral, all classes of undertakings which assist, facilitateor supplement land transport and internal navigation;

3. "I~he National Fascist Federation of other Formsof Transport (Federazione Nazionale Fascism dei TrasportiJ7ari).

These national organisations can naturally, if required, set up regional or provincial agencies.

The Federations here enumerated do not include allforms of business undertakings coming within the purview of the Confederation of Internal Communications,but, instead of forming additional Federations, for themoment a Technical and Economic Committee has beenset up as being better adapted to secure the desiredco-ordination. This Committee is divided into sectionsand so can study separately the problems connectedwith each branch of the transport activities representedin the Federation. The territorial organisation on theother hand centres round the fifteen regional and interprovincial Unions. For purposes of internal organisation only, each regional association is divided intosections which for the whole of the national territorymust belong to the Federation above named.

At the end of 1932 the number of members inscribedin the Confederation of Internal Communications numbered 11,576.

The number of persons represented was 29,682 forthe whole of Italy.

x. NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FASCISTSYNDICATES OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

§ I. The National Confederation of Syndicates ofOutline of Internal Communications deals with the workersth~ Syndical and employees of the secondary railways, i.e.,HIstory of: those not managed by the State, and of thetramway lines, river and lake communications, as well


as motor-drivers and employees of undertakings engagedin transport and communications, persons employed inelectrical communications (telephone, telegraph andwireless operators on land employed by private firms),persons employed in complementary transport services(porters, watchmen, cab-drivers, carters, auxiliary workersin undertakings for street cleaning, for forwarding, forloading and unloading goods), and lastly the port workerswho unload cargo. The workers and employees of therailways, which are managed in Italy as a State monopoly,are considered as public officials and accordingly areorganised in the Association of Public Employment(Associazione del Pubblico Impiego) , which is under thecontrol of the Directorate of the Fascist National Party.

Persons employed in air communications and inmaritime, including coastal, navigation are enrolled inthe Confederation of Seamen and Airmen.

Many branches of business activity, which come withinthe purview of the Confederation of Syndicates ofInternal Communications, are completely new to syndicalorganisation. Thus the motor-drivers, by reason ofthe comparatively recent development of motor transport,and the employees of undertakings engaged in transportand communication had been originally included in thegeneral class of employees or associated with the railwaymen · and tramwaymen and were only recentlyseparated and treated as a special category. The personsemployed in complementary transport (porters, stationwatchmen, etc.) have no great occupational cohesionand accordingly, excluding certain co-operative leaguesof carters in Emilia and Romagna formed from about1912 to 1918, no precedents for their syndical organisation call for notice here.

The category of railway and tramway workers can boastthe longest syndical tradition. In Italy as elsewhere the(a) Railway organisations for mutual aid and for syndicaland Tram- purposes among persons employed in railwaywayWorkers. services were the first to be formed. Thespecialisation required in the workers, the uniform con-


centration of work in certain districts, their practicallyuniform educational standard, are all factors thatfacilitate the formation of occupational associations.The first associations, which were merely local and forthe most part formed for purposes of mutual aid, arosein Italy between 1870 and 188o. In I 877 the association of the engine-drivers and firemen employed by theSocietd AIM Italia included in its programme, in additionto the promotion of mutual aid, "class betterment,"deliberately following the rules of foreign associationsof the type of the English Trade Union and the AmericanLeague of the Knights of Labour. This associationand the others which followed it about 1890 coveredthe railway staffs of the most important private companies then existing and took u~ political attitudes,for the most part socialistic, in the defence of classinterests. The conflicts about 1894, at the time ofthe League of Italian Railwaymen (Lega dei FerrouieriItaliani) , were of unprecedented violence owing to thefigrting spirit of the workers' associations, to the firmness of the employers in refusing to grant improvedconditions to the workers and, above all, to the antiSocialist attitude assumed by the then President of theCouncil of Ministers, Francesco Crispi. The cardinalobject of the railwaymen was to secure a scale of wageswhich would fix irrevocably the rights and privileges ofthe staff. The struggle between the private railwaycompanies and the railwaymen, organised in the earlyyears of the present century in independent groupsaccording to their occupational specialisation (operatives,drivers and firemen and employees), lasted, with varyingfortunes, until 19°4, when the Italian railway servicewas taken over by the State, with the exception of somelines of secondary importance. The consequences ofthis change were remarkable from the syndical pointof view because the category obtained very considerableimprovements, even though not completely fulfilling theexpectations of the workers. In addition, through' theadoption of a scheme of service conditions which had


long been the goal of the railwaymen, they obtainedfixity of tenure in their employment. As the categorynow came directly under Government control, the legalstatus of the railwaymen from the syndical point ofview was, in practice, profoundly modified. In subsequent years laws were promulgated which made a strikein these public services an offence and therefore punishable. The railwaymen's syndical associations, beforethe war and after the armistice, before the advent ofFascism, were of considerable importance, even asregards the railway administration, and continued totake in the great majority of the railway workers andemployees. Nor, in spite of the laws, could strikes beavoided in some cases. But for the most part thesestrikes were of a political character, declared for reasonsof class solidarity, the principal railwaymen's associations belonging to the Socialist General Confederationof Labour, and were not movements with an economicpurpose.

In the private companies, as also among personsemployed in the tramway and in internal navigationservices carried on under concessions (which are thoseof chief interest here in view of the present organisationof the Confederation now under discussion), after therailways were taken over by the State, the movement tosecure a legal status analogous to that obtained by therailwaymen who had become directly dependent on theState grew in strength. Relying on the fact that theywere responsible for working the most delicate servicesof communication, the railway and tramway men usedthe strike as a weapon for obtaining wages which madea higher standard of living possible, and also for politicalpurposes. The law by which the demands of theworkers were to a large extent granted after years ofmore or less successful struggle was the law of 19I 2 onEquitable Labour Conditions. As a result of this lawwhich was amended in 19I 9 in favour of the workers,a bilateral Commission representing employers andemployed was set up to decide wages disputes and


rules were laid down establishing the duties of thiscategory. The regulation of labour relations in theFascist Regime was limited, as concerned the railwayand tramway men, to the issue of rules for the casualworkers who were engaged in large numbers by theemployers, but were in a precarious situation and inconditions of inferiority as compared with the railwayand tramway servants, employed on a stable footingand benefiting by the rules of the law on EquitableLabour Conditions.

The syndical .history of the workers employed inelectrical communications in Italy turns chiefly on the(b) Ern- fortunes of the. employees eng~ged in theployees in the telephone services, The public telephoneTelephone services in Italy, previously privately managed,Services, were in 19°7 taken over by the State) whichbought out the installations of certain important privatecompanies. As a result of the transfer of these services to State control, the conditions of the employeeswere assimilated to those previously allowed only tothe Government postal, telegraph and telephone personnel. Side by side with the management of themore important telephone lines smaller companies wereto be found, for the most part working under concessions, the employees of which had conditions ofservice determined by special regulations and differingfrom that of the State employees. These employeescombined to form various small syndical associationsand endeavoured after the war to obtain relief from thedistressed condition in which they found themselvesas a result of the increased cost of living.

In 19 19 the Association of Telephone Employees ofParma (Associazione Telejonici di Parma) declared a strikefor the purpose of obtaining the same rate of wages as theGovernment telephone employees. Other associationsof telephone operators belonging to concessionary companies supported the movement, which had the practicalresult of securing the establishment of a commission ofEquitable Labour Conditions for telephone operators on

Outline of Syndical History 20 I

the principles adopted for the workers engaged in publictransport services. On the basis of this decision, thetelephone employees secured conditions analogous tothose enjoyed by the State telephone service. In 1925the State, partly in consequence of the necessity forrenewing the plant, transferred the telephone servicesto private management, the concession being subjectto certain conditions whereby the renewal of the installations and the efficiency of the services were guaranteed.

The syndical history of the dock labourers is one ofthe oldest and most characteristic. The workers in(c) Dock almost all the principal ports of the Kingdom,Labourers. as in other countries, are organised in co-operative societies, admission to which is governed byspecial rules. These co-operative societies, federated inthe past in powerful associations, have almost alwaysenjoyed the monopoly of unloading at the ports. Theyhave brought severe pressure to bear on the public andon employers, as they are able, whenever they may thinkfit, to interrupt the port service by withholding theirservice. This monopoly system was complicated bythe fact that the members of the dock labourers' cooperative societies handed on their membership fromfather to son, thus sometimes establishing a closed caste.During periods of unemployment the membership cardor badge was handed over for the day to an unemployedperson in return for a substantial compensation. Thusit not infrequently happened that a member of theco-operative society received at the end of the week aconsiderable wage without having taken any part in thework at the port. Moreover, the work was carried outhy hungry and inexperienced labourers with seriousdetriment to the regularity of the services and to thehealth of the labourers themselves. Fascism put an endto this state of affairs by:-

(I) Instituting the keeping of registers for thiscategory so as to secure effective control of the laboursupply;

(2) Setting up port labour offices for .the purpose of

2,02 The Italian Corporative State

supervising the management and working of the portassociations, of settling without provisional formalitiesindividual disputes regarding the work performed andthe application of the scale of charges as betweenemployers and workers and of controlling the workitself, the hours of labour and the application of disciplinary measures. As a result of this provision it wasarranged 1hat the fines should be paid into a specialfund to be allocated solely to premiums and grants tothe workers;

(3) Establishing gangs of dock labourers, thus enablingthem to undertake loading and unloading jobs withoutrecourse to agents.

§ 2. The syndical organisation of the workers employed in land transport and internal navigation is nowPresent supplied by:\-,-Constitution One National- Confederation, the Nationalof the ~on- Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Internalfederation, Communications;

Six National category-Federations;Sixteen inter-provincial Unions covering certain areas.The six National Federations of Fascist Syndicates

consist of:-I. Railway and tramway men and persons employed

in internal navigation (Fedcrazione Naziona/e dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Ferrotramvieri ed Internavigatori);

2. Dock labourers (Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Lavoratori dei Porti);

3. Motor-drivers (Federazione Nazionale dei SindacatiFascisti degli Au/is/i); .

4. Employees of firms engaged in transport andcommunications (Federazione Nazionale dei SindacatiFascisti degli Impiegati di Aziende di Trasporto e Comunicazioni) ;

5. Telephone- and radio-operators, etc. (FederazioneNazionale degli Addetti aIle Comunicazioni Elettriche);

6. Persons employed in complementary transport(Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti Addetti aiTrasporti Complementari).


·The inter-provincial Unions are the organs of theConfederation with internal sub-divisions mainly takingthe form of local offices, not legally recognised butacting as organs of co-ordination and liaison in connection with the category distinction referred to indiscussing the National Federations.

At the end of 1932 the number of enrolments in theNational Confederation of Syndicates of Communications was 194,230 and the number of persons representedwas 303,352 for the whole of Italy.

XI. NATIONAL FASCIST CONFEDERATION OFCREDIT AND INSURANCE

§ 1. The movement for association among banks andfinancial institutions in Italy was inspired by professionalFirst motives and only in the years immediatelyAs~oeiations, preceding Fascism were syndical problemsmahlnly 1. faced on the ground of an open class struggle.tec mea In 11character The movement rea y began at the end ofamong' last century in connection with the minorBankers. credit institutions and particularly the Cooperative Banks. These, which are better known underthe name of Popular Banks, combined in 1874 to forman association for protecting· the material and legalinterests of the member institutions. In 1882 theAssociation of Rural Banks (Associazione fra Ie CasseRurali) was formed. These rural banks were smallbanking institutions providing credit facilities for theless well-to-do farmers. Such institutions only employa very small number of persons and it is not in thisclass of bank that disputes with employees are likely toarise, such as would require settlement by syndicalintervention.

The more important banking institutions had for along time no associations either of a technical or of asyndical order.

The first large organisation of bankers in Italy wasthe Italian Banking Association (Associazione Bancaria

2°4 The Italian Corporative State

I/aliana), formed in 1919 as a result of two movementsarising in different quarters, one among the large creditinstitutions and the other among a group of smallerbanks and private bankers."

Previously there had been no organisation in Italywhich could bring together the institutions engaged incredit op~ations and render such technical and otherservices as those provided in other countries by bankingassociations of long standing, well equipped and issuingtheir own publications, etc. The difficulty of settingup an organisation of this kind in Italy was due to thevariety of the banking institutions and to the diversityof their particular interests. This is clear from thefact that when a movement for the establishment of anassociation arose, the two tendencies to which referencehas been made at once manifested themselves, threateningnot only to diminish the -representative and economicinfluence of the organisation, but even to give rise toantagonisms. To obviate this risk the association wasplanned on comprehensive lines, leaving sufficientindependence to the separate banking groups.

Thus arose the Italian Banking Association which wasduly constituted at a meeting held on 13 April 19 I 9.It had offices in Rome and in Milan. All profit-makingwas excluded and the objects were specified as follows:-

(a) To encourage the orderly development of thenational financial and banking movement in harmonywith the legitimate protection of the interests commonto the various categories of member institutions;

(b) To promote and make known the interests anddemands of the banking class by suitable action withthe public authorities, including Parliament and theLegislature;

(c) To provide by means of a Permanent AdvisoryOffice (Ufficio Consultivo Permanente) for the interpretation and explanation of legislative provisions, especiallyin fiscal matters, and of the principles of banking;

1 This information is supplied by t.hecourtesy of the General Fascist BankingConfederation (Conjederazione G!nerale Bancaria Fascista).

· Outline of Syndical History

(d) To secure and maintain good understandingsbetween the member institutions, assisting the parties,on their request, to arrive at amicable settlements, evenwhen the question at issue is not general in character;

(e) To encourage the growth of the knowledge ofbanking principles and technique, the determinationof customary procedure, and statistical and economicstudies;

(n To enter into relations with analogous societiesand r federations in Italy and elsewhere.

To ensure that independence to which attention hasbeen directed, the association was divided into fivegroups, each having its own council, the members ofthe five councils combining to form the General Council.The association was, therefore, composed of the followinggroups:-

National Credit Institutions (Istituti Nazionali diCredito ordinario) ;

Regional Credit Institutions (lstituti Regionali diCredito Ordinario);

Private Bankers (B anchieri Privati);Co-operative Credit Institutions with Limited Lia

bility (Istituti Cooperativi di Credito a ResponsibilitdLimitata) ;

Finance Corporations (Istituti Finanziari).To these five groups must be added that of the

corresponding members, to which may belong Italianbanks in foreign countries and foreign banks in whichItalian banks are interested or Italian capital is invested.

The policy of the association from its very beginningswas designed for the benefit of the member institutions,and it dealt with questions of general interest to banks,both in regard to the internal relations between thevarious banking institutions and in regard to theirrelations with State Departments.

In addition it carried on propaganda for the diffusionof instruction in economics and in the knowledge of banking technique. For this purpose it publishes the RiuistaBancaria, a monthly review which follows economic


developments both Italian and International, and dealswith legal and technical questions connected withbanking. The association also publishes the Yearbookof Italian Banks and Bankers (Annuario delle Banche eBanchieri d'Italia) , which tabulates the most importantstatistics not only for the banking institutions in Italy,but also for similar institutions in other countries, thecapital oMvhich is wholly or in large part Italian.

At the annual general meeting of the association afull report on the economic and financial condition ofthe country is presented and questions of special andimmediate importance for the banks are discussed.Membership of the association is not compulsory, butin practice a large proportion of the banks are enrolled.The conditions for admission to membership are: (a)not less than five years standing; (b) the consent of theCouncil.

§ 2. As a result of the law of 3 April 1926 and onthe motion of the Italian Banking Association, the

. . General Fascist Banking Confederation wasOrganisation · • d h·· ·of Banks institute as t e supreme organisation Inunder Italy representing the banks and the auxiliarythe ~ascist credit institutions. This Confederation wasRegime. divid d . · d d ·IVI e Into two In epen ent sections asfollows, each having its own administration and separatebalance-sheet:-

A. The Economic and Financial Section (SezioneEconomico-finanziaria), which is voluntary and subsidiary in character, membership being confined tosuch institutions as expressly apply for admission andmake a special contribution.

B. The Syndical Section (Sezione Sindacale), whichcomplies with the provisions of the law of 3 April1926.

In the Economic and Financial Section the previouslyexisting Italian Banking Association was incorporated,its programme being modified so far as was necessaryfor the fulfilment of the new responsibilities entrustedto it by the syndical organisation. Under the new

Outline of Syndical History 2°7arrangements the Confederation, as representing thecategory, may be considered as the organ of collaborationin the banking and monetary policy of the Regime.

The Syndical Section became officially responsiblefor a programme that was almost entirely new as compared with that carried out by the previous BankingAssociation. This association had not, at the time ofits formation, undertaken any syndical functions, butduring the period of the workers' agitations, particularlyin 19 I 9 and 1920, it became the spokesman for thebankers' side in the negotiations between themselvesand their employees, who were agitating and strikingfor an improvement in their conditions of service.This duty, only fulfilled provisionally by the BankingAssociation, was expressly included by the rules amongthe functions assigned to the Syndical Section of theGeneral Banking Confederation. These include:-

(a) The study and solution of the problems of therelations of service as between banks and their personnelin accordance with the terms of the new legislation andwith the object of avoiding disputes;

(h) The study and application of legislation and of allmovements for promoting educational and other formsof assistance for the employees.

At the time of the establishment of the Confederation and subsequently till 1927 there were eightminor associations, namely:-

I. The Syndical Association of National Credit Institutions (Associazione Sindacale Ira ISliluli Nazionali diCredito Ordinario);

2. The National Syndical Association of RegionalCredit Institutions (Associazione Nazionaie Sindacale fraIstituti Regionali di Credito Ordinario);

3. The National Syndical Association of PrivateBankers (Associazione Nazionale Sindacale Ira BanchieriPrivati);

4. The National Syndical Association of FinanceCorporations (Associazione Nazionale Sindacale tra IstittaiFinanziart) ;

208 The Italian Corporative Stat'

5. The National Syndicate of Popular Banks (Sindacato Nazionale Ira Banche Popolari);

6. The National Association of Rural Banks, Agricultural Banks and Auxiliary Institutions (AssociazioneNazionale fra Casse Rurali, Agrarie ed Enti Ausiliari);

7. The National Syndical Association of Firms andCommisgjon Houses operating on the Stock Exchange(Associazione Nazionale Sindacale tra Ditte e Commissionali di Borsa) in which subsequently, from January1930 onwards, the money-exchangers were included;

8. 1~he National Fascist Syndical Association of Bank.Officials (Associazione Nazionale Fascista fra Funzionaridi Banca), which afterwards, as a result of the RoyalDecree of 13 May 1930, changed its name to NationalFascist Association of Bank Directors (AssociazioneNazionaie Fascista dei Dirigenti Aziende Bancarie). Bythis change, not merely of form but of substance, therewere excluded from the new association such employeesas do not exercise true directive functions.

The basis of the organisation of the Confederationremained almost unchanged from 1927 to 193 I, when,in consequence of the revision of the organisation ofcertain categories engaged in production, the NationalFascist Association of Tax Collectors (AssociazioneNazionale Fascista fra Esattori e Ricevitori delle ImposteDirelle) was also assigned to the General Banking Confederation. This constitutes an appreciable advance towards the homogeneity desired in syndical organisation.Moreover, in compliance with the wishes expressed bythe categories interested, it was arranged that privateinsurance undertakings, improperly included in theorganisation of industry, should pass to the BankingConfederation, which thenceforth assumed the name ofConfederation of Credit and Insurance (Confederazionedel Credito edell' Assicurazione).

In 193 I further substantial changes were made in thestructure of this Confederation. The technical aid to theCredit Institutions was transferred from the Economicand Financial Section t.P a new Technical Italian Banking

Outline of Syndical History 2°9

Association, entirely independent of the Confederation.This Association largely reproduces the characteristicfeatures of the former Banking Association of 19 19.Development § 3· The development of the Confederationof the is clearly shown by the number of institutionsOrganisation. inscribed as members in the affiliated associa-tions.

NUMBER OF INSTITUTIONS INSCRIBED AS MEMBERS IN THE AFFILIATED

ASSOCIATIONS 1

Associations.--------;;:ef .. '-~--:-I-~ JU~nI.Estab- 19.:!.7· 192 8 • 19 2 9. 193°· I 93.:!..

lishment,

National Credit Institutions 7 9 9 9 8 7Regional Credit Institutions 22 III 13,5 135 12 7 120

Private Ban kers 23 49 68 68 65 47Finance Corporations 19 22 24 26 3° 35Popular Banks III 247 320 332 321 280Rural Banks 1,600 2, 187 2,449 2,4 89 2,54 1 2,277Commission Houses operating

on the Exchange 27 7° 74 92 82 9 1Tax Collectors 160Private Insurance Undertak-

ings 124

1,808 2,695 3,°79 3,15 1 3,174 3,14 1

-- - .-------~----.. ~------ ... ~_~_______.. _ ••• _.___._ •• ~ ___ r __ .... _~ __~_" ~~___~ _____

It is important in this connection to observe that thenumber of institutions that are members of the Confederation increased by 75 per cent between the timeof its establishment and 1930, and that the number ofinstitutions to-day is equivalent to 45 per cent of thetotal number of institutions represented by the occupational associations. Among the insurance companies,out of 154 represented no fewer than 124 are regularlyenrolled, and among the provincial tax-collecting offices,out of 5,000 represented, 4,000 are regularly inscribedas members in the respective associations.

1 G. Bianchini, Direttioe della Politica Monetaria e Bancaria del Regime.Arc/zivio di Stud; Corporatioi, Vol. II, No. II I, p. 357.


As a result of the most recent provisions the NationalFascist Confederation of Credit and Insurance is nowmade up of ten national associations which, in theirturn, represent about 9,000 credit institutions, insurancecompanies and tax-collecting offices, employing in theaggregate upwards of 50,000 persons. In this totalthe per~ns employed by certain tax-collecting officesfrom which returns have not yet been received arenaturally not included.

At the end of 1932 the nurnber of members inscribedin the Confederation of Credit and Insurance numbered3,835·

The number of persons and firms represented was10,659 for the whole of Italy.

XII. NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FASCISTSYNDICATES OF EMPLOYEES IN BANKS

AND INSURANCE OFFICES

§ I. The syndical history of bank employees inItaly is not very extensive. The difficulties in the way

O· . . of the occupational organisation of privaterganisation .

of Bank employees, already noted In the case of personsEmployees employed in commerce, can be adduced as~fo~c partly explaining the poverty of syndical spirit

ascisrn. shown among the bank employees until about19 10. One of the earliest examples of association amongbank employees in Italy was that of the Association ofEmployees of the Savings Bank of the LombardProvinces (Associazione tra il Personale della Cassa diRisparmio delle Prouincie Lombarde) with headquartersin Milan, which was formed in 1902 for the protectionof the material and general interests of members.Subsequently other associations sprang up, mainly forpurposes of mutual aid, such as the Association of theEmployees of the People's Mutual Agricultural Bankof Lodi (Associazione degli Impiegati della Banca MutuaPopolare Agricola di Lodi), the Association of the Em-.

Outline of Syndical History 2 I I

ployees of the Bank of Sicily (Associazione degli Impiegatidel Banco di Sicilia), and the Association of the Employees of the Monte dei Paschi of Siena (Associazionedegli Addetti al Monte dei Paschi di Siena). At the endof 1908 the Union of Bank Employees (Unione deglilmpiegati Bancari) was formed in Milan for the purposeof uniting this category throughout Italy in a singleassociation by federating the various local unions formedin the more important centres as well as the mutual aidassociations above mentioned. The work of the NationalFederation which was established in Bologna in 19 10

was mainly intended to improve social legislation and toobtain recognition of the syndical rights of the category)considered as a separate unit. Accordingly, the desiderata put forward by a Committee of Roman BankEmployees (Comitato di Impiegati Bancari Romani) in1909 and by l'Impiegato di Banca, the official organ ofthe Union of Bank Employees of Milan, and afterwardsof the Federation, included the following: (I) legislation on the contract of service; (2) the establishment ofa Technical Magistracy to adjudicate in any disputesthat may arise between capital and labour; (3) legalrecognition of bank employees and employees of kindredinstitutions as a separate syndical category; (4) compulsory insurance or) at any rate) special insurancefacilities) for all employees.

In 191 I the Federation, which was carrying out amainly professional programme) separated itself fromthe Confederation of Private Employment, to which ithad previously been affiliated, when the Confederationmade it clear that it had become definitely political andsocialistic in policy. Nor does it appear that any substantial change had occurred in the attitude of theFederation in the period immediately following thewar, when it directed the bank employees' movementfor obtaining salary increases, high cost of living indemnities and a definitive settlement of their legal statusvis-a-vis their em ployers. The demands of the bankemployees) who in 19 I 9 had joined the Federation in


large numbers, met with determined opposition on thepart of the banks, who had in the same year formed theirown association. The dispute developed into a strikein which the employees were worsted and with thedismissal of many of their number the movement collapsed. In 1920 the National Federation of BankEmplo~es of Italy was succeeded by the General Confederation of Bank Employees of Italy (ConfederazioneGenerate dei Bancari d'Italia) , an association which, as aresult of recen~,~ experience, adopted different principlesfor its internal organisation. It included the followingfour Federations :-,-

(a) The Federation of Associations of Employees ofBanks of Issue (Federazione Ira Ie rissociazioni del Personale degli Istituti di Emissione); f

(b) The Federation of Associations of Employees ofSavings Banks and Pawnbroking Institutions ("Monti diPietJ") constituted as corporate bodies (Federazione trale Associazioni del Personale delle Casse di Risparmio edei Monti di Pietd costituiti in Ente morale);

(c) The Federation of Employees of Medium-sizedand Small Banks and of branches of Foreign Banks inItaly (Federazione Ira il Personale delle Banche Medie ePiccole e Filiali di Banche Estere in Italia);

(d) The Federation of Associations of Employees ofthe Large Credit Institutions (Federazione fra le Associazioni del Personate dei Grandi Istituti di Credito Ordinario).

§ 2. In the early days of Fascist syndicalism thecategory of bank employees did not. to any great extentFascism attract the attention of the syndical organisaand th~ . tions of workers in which they ought to haveOrganisation b 11 df Bank and eeJ:1 enro e •

~nsurance However, in 1926 they were organised intoEmployees. a large national category-association under thename of National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofBanks (Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti delleBanche). This Federation was a member of the NationalConfederation of Fascist Syndicates together with theFederations of workers and employees in industry, agri-


culture, commerce, land transport and sea and airtransport. In 1929 the National Banking Settlementbetween the National Confederation of Fascist Syndicatesand the General Fascist Banking Confederation wasarranged whereby relations between employers andemployees were determined. The Settlement, which wasaccepted (except for slight subsequent amendments) byboth the contracting parties and approved by theGovernment, was drawn up according to the principlesof the Fascist corporative system. This Settlementafter the lapse of seventeen years-secured for all thebank employees of Italy many points in the programmeof desiderata put forward in 19 10 by the employeesin Milan and Rome as the ultimate goal of unitedsyndical action. It lays down the lines of a commonstandard for the general and material conditions to beaccorded to the various grades of bank employees,and becomes in practice a compulsory form of contract,to be supplemented by the various special agreementsbetween banks and their employees, made in accordance with the varying conditions of the individual bankinginstitutions and with the substantial differences in theirtechnical and economic purposes. The National Banking Settlement affects the banks which employ morethan twenty persons, but for other banks, employing lessthan twenty persons, it has been necessary to draw upa different model contract.

In consequence of the splitting up of the NationalConfederation of Fascist Syndicates, the bank employeeswere placed on an independent footing under a newtitle. In 1928 the National Confederation of FascistSyndicates of Rank Employees (Confederazione Nazionale

.dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Bancari) was founded, to represent the persons employed 'by the credit institutions) thepopular banks, the rural banks, the agencies andauxiliary credit institutions, the private banks and thefinance corporations. Subsequently the following othercategories were admitted to membership:-

I Employees of Stockbroking and Commission

2 14 The Italian Corporative Slate

Houses (Dipendenti dalle Ditte e dai Commissionari diBorsa);

2. Employees of Communal Banks of AgriculturalCredit (Dipendenti dalle Casse Comunali di CreditoAgrario);

3. Employees of the Collectors of Taxes (Dipendentida Esattori e Riceuitori delle Imposte);

4. EmpT6yees of Private Insurance Companies (Dipendenti da Isti/uti di rlssicurazione Privati).

The Confederation accordingly assumed the name ofConfederation of' Fascist Syndicates of Credit andInsurance (Conjederazione dei Sindacati Fascisti del Creditoe della Assicurazione). Recently also bank officialshave been admitted to membership in the NationalConfederation of Fascist Syndicates of Credit andInsurance. This group of higher employees, togetherwith the bank managing .directors (executive officerswho are generally authorised to sign documents onbehalf of the bank), previously belonged to the NationalFascist Confederation of Credit and Insurance. Experience showed that the functions of the employers'Confederation were not always consonant with thecategory interests of the bank officials, many of whomfound themselves at times in open conflict of interestwith their colleagues in this body. As many of theseofficials were obviously to be regarded as workers, itwas decided to divide the category into two groups.One group, that of the managing grade, was attachedto the National Fascist Confederation of Credit andInsurance and represented therein the' nucleus of technical experts. The other group, that of the officials,included all the higher employees who could not beregarded as having true directive functions and wasattached to the National Confederation of FascistSyndicates of Credit and Insurance.

Besides undertaking the study and preparation oflabour contracts, the National Confederation of FascistSyndicates of Credit and Insurance set itself to reconcileand .co-ordinate certain ~ontractual rules with the prin-

OUlline of Syndical History 21 5ciple of the new syndicalism. It is recognised, even inthe case of banks, that it is desirable to limit, as far aspossible, the fluctuations in the high cost of livingindemnity, which depends on the variations in theofficial price index, and thus to give to the worker thefeeling of a genuinely increased stability in his salary.In addition to this guarantee of stability in salary withincertain limits of the variations in the index numbers, afurther guarantee was offered, that of the stability of thesalary itself within wide limits of time. The assistancegiven by the Confederation was extended to all kinds ofbanks, including those in which the relations with thestaff were not as yet governed by special regulations.

§ 3. The organisation of the National Confederationof Fascist Syndicates of Credit and Insurance is actuallyPresent constituted by three National Federations,Constitution namely:-of the Con- I. The National Federation of Fascist Syn-federation. dicates of Employees in Credit Undertakings(Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipendentidalle Aziende di Credito);

2. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicatesof Employees in Insurance Companies iFederaeioneNazionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipendenti dalleImprese di /lssicurazione);

3. The National Federation of Fascist Syndicatesof Employees in Tax-collecting Offices (FederazioneNatzionale dei Sindacati Fascisti dei Dipendenti daiRiceuitori, Esattori e Gestori d'I mposle);

One National Syndicate of Bank Officials (SindacatoNaxionale dei Funzionari di Banca);

Fourteen inter-provincial syndicates, which cover thepersons employed by credit and insurance institutions,etc., in areas almost exactly corresponding to the differentregions of Italy. These syndicates are divided, forpurposes of practical working, into three sections corresponding to the three National Federations of theEmployees of Credit Institutions, of Insurance Companies and of Tax-collecting Offices.


At the end of 1932 the number of members inscribedin the National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates ofCredit and Insurance was 33,78 I . The persons represented numbered 47,996 for the whole of Italy.

XIII. NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FASCISTSYNDICA~S OF PROFESSIONAL MEN AND ARTISTS

§ 1. Before the coming of Fascism persons in Italyfollowing intellectual occupations had no form of nationalProfessional syndical organisation. Such occupational organOrders or isations for professional men as existedColleges. limited their activities to the internal regulationof purely professional questions and took the form ofOrders (Ordini) or Colleges (Colleli) among lawyers,notaries, accountants, engineers, etc., and numerouslaws laid down precise rules for the working of thesebodies. Many of these Orders date back to the endof the last century and their chief function consists inthe compilation of a Professional Register (Albo) inwhich are entered the names of all persons possessingthe educational and personal qualifications required bythe law for the exercise of the particular profession.Certain categories of persons proved guilty of specifiedmisdemeanours cannot be admitted to the Register andaccordingly cannot be allowed to practise particularprofessions, notably the medical. Every Order requiresits members to observe certain rules in the exercise ofthe particular profession, fixes the amount of the subscription to be paid in each case and determines the feesthat may be charged, indicating in some instances--iorexample, for the. lawyers-the maximum and minimumlimits within which the fee may vary.

The law confers on the members of the professionalOrders, and on them only, the responsibilities impliedin the exercise of their calling in the case of expertopinions in the courts and of special technical dutiesin connection with public administrations, and imposespenalties for wrongful exercise.

Outline of Syndical History 2 17

These considerations show that the sphere of actionof the vocational associations established by Fascismdiffers profoundly from that of the old professionalOrders. There is, for example, a strongly markedpolitical and social difference. The new associationsno longer confine themselves to laying down rules forthe exercise of a specific function, but represent in theorder of the productive forces of the country all personswho exercise that function. This representation goeseven so far as the nomination of candidates for politicalelections. From the public character assumed by thevocational associations in the Fascist Regime arise otherdifferences of an economic order, particularly as a resultof contracts, labour agreements, etc., stipulated by theassociation in the interests, not only of its inscribedmembers, but also of the persons it represents, andvalid as against members of intellectual professions andall who make use of their services. With the rise andsuccess of the occupational associations the importanceof the former "Orders" has necessarily diminished, asthe representation of the separate categories now belongssolely to these associations. The professional Ordershave a justification for continued existence in the factthat they prescribe precise regulations for the exerciseof the various callings in accordance with the technicaland disciplinary limitations laid down by the law.

§ 2. The first organisation of intellectual workers onsyndical principles was that set up immediately afterFirst the war at Milan through the efforts of certainAssociati~ns ex-service lawyers. In 19 I 9 the first Fascioofa Syndical d'azione of ex-service lawyers was formed forCharacter h f bini · db·among t e purpose 0 com imng In or er to 0 tarnIntellectual greater influence in the public and economicWorkers. life of the country at a moment when the possibilities of the intellectual classes seemed to be in declineand their chances in life, particularly for ex-service men,to have diminished owing to their long absence at thefront. After a few months this Fascia changed its nameto that of Syndicate of Ex-Service Lawyers (Sindacato


degli Avvocati e Procuratori Reduci del Seruizio Militare).The title of "Syndicate" had already been assumed byanother association of the intellectual workers, in thiscase the physicians, who had also combined in 19 I 9 forthe defence of their material interests. The organisersof this movement desired to foster a spirit of solidarityamong the-Blembers of the intellectual classes, not somuch for the purpose of asserting an economic monopolyin their own favour as for the defence of their rights,which were being _contested in the sharp struggle inprogress between capital and labour.' The promoters ofthe Syndicate of Lawyers constantly strengthened thecontact between the various categories of intellectualworkers, until on 28 February 1920 the Italian Confederation of Intellectual Work (Conjederazione Italianadel Lavoro Intellettuale) was formed in Milan. ThisConfederation set out to -organise the categories ofpersons belonging to the liberal professions for theprotection "of their own interests and of the interestsof the community in all matters pertaining to progress."

The Confederation, through the efforts of certainPropaganda Committees (Comitati Promotori), set upsections in various Italian cities, and important professional associations of a national character becameaffiliated members in due course.

This movement, in spite of the favourable circumstances under which it was launched, did not have anydefinite result on account of the individualistic and"anti-trade union" spirit of the professional class andof the difficulties of organisation peculiar to this typeof occupation. In spite of the absence of concreteresults, the fact of the formation of the Confederation isparticularly noteworthy as it gave to persons engagedin _intellectual callings, combined in a professional nonsocialistic association, the title of workers. It was thusrecognised that the intellectual worker engaged in a

1 Information obtained through the courtesy of Signor Sileno Fabbri,barrister-at-law.

Outline of Syndical History 21 9

paid avocation (however he may be remunerated) isa worker who assumes in the process of productionthe same position as a manual worker in relation to anemployer. This attitude was adopted by the Fascistsystem when the intellectual workers were combined ina syndical organisation. Under socialist pressure beforeand after the war, a tendency had become manifest amongemployees and persons following the so-called intellectualprofessions to support the workers' movement againstcapital, but in such a timid and tentative fashion as tohave little or no effect with either the working classes orthe classes in power. On the other hand, the tendencyof those engaged in intellectual pursuits to considerthemselves as workers seems unquestionable.

§ 3. Fascism continues the movement begun in thesyndical field immediately after the war, and assigns toF i m and this order of workers a high position in theth~~:velop- scale of social values, as it desires to utilisement .of the the technical possibilities of every categorySyndical d· ducti I · hOrganisation concerne . In pro uctl.on. n 19~ I In t eof Confederation of Syndical Corporations (ConIntellectual [ederazione delle Corporazioni Sindacali), whichWorkers. was formed through the efforts of E. Rossoni, theCorporation of the Intellectual Professions (Corporazionedelle Projessioni Intellettuali) had the first place. Theearlier members urged that it was necessary to bridgethe gap between intellectual and manual workers andthey sought to convince the two great categories ofworkers of the necessity for harmony and for a spirit ofcollaboration. The first Fascist Syndicates of IntellectualWorkers demanded that "the legislation dealing withunemployment, accidents, illness and old age in the case'of intellectual workers should be completed, the organisations of intellectual workers should be properly utilisedand assistance should be provided during professionaltraining, during the period of probation and duringunemployment, as also for their widows and orphans."With the progress of syndical organisation, the numberof members of the Corporation of the Intellectual Profes-


sions increased. In 1923 there were thirteen affiliatedsyndicates, representing: I. Authors and writers; 2. Lawyers; 3. Notarie; 4. Assistant notaries; 5. Engineers;6. Architects; 7. Chemists holding degrees; 8. Doctors ineconomics and social science; 10. Technicians holding diplomas; I I. Professional civil surveyors; 12. Valuers (excludingland-survey~); 13. Imicntors.!

Doctors, druggists and veterinary surgeons wereorganised, together with hospital attendants, in a specialMedical Corporation (Corporazione Sanitaria), and professors and teachers in intermediate and teachers inelementary schools, in the School Corporation (Corporazione della Scuola).

The employees, unlike the members of the intellectualprofessions previously noted, were organised in a specialCorporation, the National Corporation of Public andPrivate Employment (Corporazione Nazionale dell' ImpiegoPubblico e Privato). Subsequently all persons engagedin the public service, including naturally the teachersin State schools, were organised in an association directlyunder the control of the Directorate of the Fascist Party,called the Association of Public Employment (Associazione del Pubblico Impiego). The Corporation of theIntellectual Professions was followed by the NationalFederation of Syndicates of Intellectual Workers (Federazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Intellettuali), as a result ofthe transformation in 1926 of the Confederation ofSyndical Corporations into the National Confederationof Fascist Syndicates, of which this National Federationwas a constituent member.

The National Federation of Syndicates of IntellectualWorkers was transformed in 1928 into the NationalConfederation of Syndicates of Professional Men andArtists (Confederazione Nazionale dei Sindacati Pro[essionisti ed Artisti). This Confederation covers twenty-one categories, with a corresponding number of nationalsyndicates, namely:-

1 Giacomo di Giacomo, Organixxazione Sindacale dei lanioratori intellettuali,r- 12. Milan, Casa -Editrice Hoepti.

Outline of Syndical History 2'21

I. The" Syndicate of Physicians (Sindacato dei Medici);2. The Syndicate of Druggists (Sindacato dei Farma

tisti) ;3. The Syndicate of Veterinary Surgeons (Sindacato

dei f/eterinari);4. The Syndicate of Midwives (Sindacato delle Leva

trici) ;5. The Syndicate of Engineers (Sindacato degli Inge

gneri) ;6. The Syndicate of Architects (Sindacato degli Archi

tetti) ;7. The Syndicate of Surveyors (Sindacato dei Geometri);8. The Syndicate of Expert Industrial Valuers (Sinda

cato dei Periti Industriali);9. The Syndicate of Expert Commercial Valuers

(Sindacato dei Periti Commerciali);10. The Syndicate of Chemists (Sindacato dei Chimici);I I. The Syndicate of Lawyers (Sindacato degli Avvo

cati e Procuratori);12. The Syndicate of Notaries (Sindacato dei Notai);13. The Syndicate of Legal Assistants (Sindacato dei

Patrocinatori Legali);14. The Syndicate of Doctors in Economics and

Commerce (Dottori in Economia e Commercio);IS. The Syndicate of Accountants (Sindacato dei

Ragionieri);16. The Syndicate of Journalists (Sindacato dei Gior

nalisti) ;17. The Syndicate of Private Teachers (Sindacato

degli Insegnanti Privati);I 8. The Syndicate of Agricultural Experts (Sindacato

dei Tecnici Agricoli);19. The Syndicate of Authors and Writers (Sindacato

degli Autori e Scrittori);20. The Syndicate of Musicians (Sindacato dei Musi

cisti) ;2 I. The Syndicate of the Fine Arts (Sindacato delle

Belle Arti).This Confederation not only represents the syndical


and professional organisation of the categories represented, but also undertakes the management of centresfor education in corporative principles and promotespopular training and propaganda.

The centres of corporative education are institutionsorganised in the large cities in which, by means of books,courses of kctures and communications issued throughthe Press, propaganda on behalf of the principles of thecorporative system is carried on among the better educatedclasses and syndical. and corporative propaganda amongthe workers.

In connection with the more important activities ofthe Confederation of Professional Men and Artists,special reference should be made to its work for thedevelopment of scientific and artistic training by theaward of scholarships and the organisation of artexhibitions and competitions with the object, not onlyof selecting the best works of art produced, but also ofinfusing a national spirit into Italian art.

The intellectual workers are at present organised incategory-syndicates, bodies which have the following areasof operation:-

I. Provincial;2. Inter-provincial;3. Regional;4. Court of Appeal Districts;5. Local Court Districts.These local syndicates in their turn are grouped in

national syndicates.The National Confederation, to which the national

syndicates are affiliated, stands at the head of theorganisation. .

At the end of 1932 the number of members inscribedin the Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Professional Men and Artists was 90,227.


CHAPTER VII

THE WORK OF SOCIAL ASSISTANCEUNDER THE CORPORA~rIVE REGIME

1. SOCIAL ASSISTANCE AND INSURANCE

§ I. Special importance is given to the work of socialassistance which devolves on the occupational associations.W k be The law compels employers and workers todo~: b~ insure against wor~ accid~nt~, invalidity a~dSyndical old age, tuberculosis and, In Industry, certain~ssociations occupational diseases. In addition to theseIn com- 1 c f · F' 1 ·pliance with CO~pU sory ~orms 0 InSUrance,. ascist eg~s-

regulations lation prescribes that the occupational aSSOCla-~id ~o~n tion shall supplement and extend the application

y t e aw, of the principles of social assistance and insur-ance beyond the limits compulsorily prescribed.

The information which follows, accordingly, relatesonly to the action taken by the occupational associationsto supplement, in regard to social insurance and assistance, the prescriptions of the law and therefore not tothe compulsory insurances referred to above.

Article I of the law of 3 April 1926 subordinates thelegal recognition of occupational associations to the condition that, besides safeguarding the material and moralinterests of their members, they shall make it also theirspecial concern to provide, and to provide effectively,assistance for their members, as also. instruction, together with training in the principles of right conductand political loyalty.

In the rules for the application of the law of 3 April,it is insisted in Article I I that, even when parallel withthe syndical association there exist Orders or Collegesempowered to control enrolment in the' register of

223


persons exercising some specific art or profession, thesyndical association alone shall have the right to providesafeguards for the moral and material interests of thepersons represented by them, to render assistance and togive training and education as contemplated by the law.

In Article I 8 of the law itself, referring to the expenditure ~occupationalassociations, the cost of materialand social aid, of moral and religious assistance, ofnational education and occupational training is indicatedas a compulsory charge. The contributions to certainfundamental institutions of the Regime, such as theWorkers' Leisure Time National Institute (Opera Nazionale del DopOfa7)Oro), the Maternity and Child Welfare National Institute (Opera Nazionale per fa Maternitae per l'Injanzia), the Young People's National Institute(Opera Nazionaie Balilfa) and the National Workers' AidSociety (Patronato Nazionale), are also compulsory.

An account has already been given in Chapter I,IV, § 3, page 26, of the Workers' Leisure Time NationalInstitute and of the Young People's National Institute.

The Mothers' and Infants' National Institute is a semiofficial benefit institution for the assistance in the firstinstance of mothers during and after childbirth and thenfor the protection of infants, especially through preventivemeasures against disease. The Institute also carriesout propaganda with the object of awakening among thepeople a sense of the need for hygienic precautions andof moral responsibility in regard to children.

Where organisations with similar objects are alreadyin existence, the National Institute comes to their aid,helping by preference such institutions as, owing totheir limited means and the extent of the benefits provided, are most obviously necessitous.

The National Workers' Aid Society is an institutionwhich exists side by side with the occupational associations to give gratuitous assistance to workers underevery aspect, administrative or judicial, of the disputeswhich may arise under the application of the laws onsocial assistance and social insurance and, in particular,

Social Assistance under the Corporative Regime 225

of the laws relating to work accidents. This institutioncarries on its work throughout the Kingdom throughthe medium of ninety-two provincial offices fully equippedon the technical and scientific side.

The Labour Charter further emphasises the rules laiddown by the law of 3 April J 926, inasmuch as it imposeson employers and workers the duty of participating ininsurance schemes (Labour Charter, Declaration XXVI)and makes the occupational associations and the Stateresponsible for the provision of social assistance and forthe promotion, co-ordination and unification of all actiontaken in the matter of assistance and insurance (LabourCharter, Declarations XXVI, XXVIII and XXIX)"

The policy of the Fascist Regime for the developmentof schemes of social assistance and insurance may besummed up under the following fundamental headings:-

I. Improvement of insurance schemes against accidents, particularly by a more exact determination of thecases of accident and of the branches of industry inwhich they may occur;

2. Improvement and extension of maternity insurance with special provisions for illegitimate births, andthe prosecution of an active propaganda for the prevention of infant mortality and puerperal disease;

3. Establishment of schemes of insurance againstoccupational diseases and against tuberculosis as thebeginning of a general system of insurance against allforms of disease. Up to the present, tuberculosis is theonly disease against which insurance is compulsory.Provisions have recently been approved and others areunder consideration for assisting workers liable tomalaria. Further, in certain branches of industry thenecessity of insuring workers against occupationaldiseases is recognised;

4. Improvement of insurance schemes against involuntary unemployment, by the establishment andregulation of Government Employment Offices and bya strict control over the grant of unemployment subsidies,such subsidies being confined within modest limits in


order that they may not serve as an inducement tounemployment itself;

5. Adoption of special forms of endowment insurance for young workers (Labour Charter, DeclarationXXVII).

The work of the occupational associations in regardto social assistance consists in the protection of thepersons they represent in administrative and judicialprocedure in connection with accident and social insurance. This protection is partly given directly by theofficials of the occupational associations, and in the caseof disputes arising in connection with the application ofthe laws on social insurance, through the medium of theNational Workers' Aid Society, a special body whichhas already been described.

It should be here remarked that all forms of assistance and insurance are based on the principle that socialassistance of any kind is not gratuitously bestowed bythe State or by private individuals, but is paid for bythe interested persons themselves, through their contributions to the occupational associations.

Various bodies collaborate in the work of the syndicalassociations, which may be divided into two main groups:-

A. Bodies which are bilateral in character or aremarkedly corporative in the sense that their work isbased on the harmonious collaboration of employers andworkers in some particular branch;

B. Institutions established by a single Confederationand maintained by the contributions of employers onlyor of workers only.

§ 2. The following are typical examples of bilateralinstitutions for assistance and insurance s-s-Institutions, The National Institute of Insurance forbilateral?r Employees and Workers in Private Gas Com~orporauve panies (Istituto Naxionale di Preuidenxa per iIn character, D· d. . d. 11 A' d, P' · d, / G )for Assist- tpen entt eue .azsen e rroan e as ,ance and founded on 28 October 1929 under the termsInsurance. of an agreement between the General Con-federation of Italian Industry and the National Federation

Social Assistance under the" Corporative Regime 227

of Fascist Syndicates of the Industries supplying Water,Gas and Electricity Services. Before this agreementwas made, there were only a few private insuranceschemes confined to the more important undertakingsof this class, whereas the new Institute includes all theprivate companies in Italy.

The purpose of the Institute is to collect and toadminister the funds necessary for the payment of anindemnity or of a life pension to the persons employedby the gas companies, or of an indemnity or of a pensionpayable also to widows, orphans or dependent relativesin cases of the dismissal for reasons other than disciplinary, of the invalidity, of the retirement or of thedeath of the employed person. The income of theInstitute is made up of the contributions of the companiesand of the workers actually employed, the amount beingproportionately higher for the companies than for theworkers, and of half the amount of the deductions fromwages made by the companies for disciplinary reasons,as well as of donations or of interest on the capital ownedby the institute itself.

The Confederation of Agriculture also undertakes toprovide social assistance and insurance benefits additionalto those secured by the legal obligations incumbent on allemployers. This Confederation, unlike the Confederation of Industry, did not find already in existence at thetime of its institution important schemes initiated bycompanies or by individuals and already in full workingorder. Owing to the peculiar characteristics of agricultural labour resulting from the special methods of remuneration and of working followed, corporative action wasrequired to give effect to and to make general any schemesfor social assistance and insurance. Such action was, infact, brought about by a convention made between theConfederation of Agriculture and the Confederation ofFascist Syndicates of Agricultural Labourers, and as aresult the National Federation of Sickness Funds forAgricultural Labourers (Federazionc Nazionale CasseMalattie per i Lauoratori Agricoli) was established; This


is an institution, bilateral in character, for insurance andmutual aid in agriculture, which only began to functionas a legally recognised body at the end of 1930. TheFederation has organised Provincial Mutual Funds forthe benefit not only of the insured persons, but also,subject to certain conditions, of the dependent membersof their families. These funds, according to the programme ~t the Federation, must also adopt measuresfor the prevention of illness by providing proper treatment for persons likely to be affected, with specialreference to children. The Federation has also givenits attention to the important problem of the development of sickness insurance in the redeemed provinces.In addition to its work connected with the MutualFunds, the Federation attempts so to co-ordinate thevarious Provincial Agricultural Labourers' Funds thatall may benefit from the advantages obtainable under asingle National Fund, while leaving to the separatefunds such independence as will allow them to adaptthemselves to the special needs of the various districts.Furthermore, it carries on propaganda in collaborationwith other bodies for the diffusion of the principles ofrural hygiene and of sanitary preventive measures andfor the application of the social laws. For the purposeof improving and enlarging the work of assistance andinsurance for the benefit of agricultural workers theFederation is also closely linked with the Federation ofInstitutions for Mutual Insurance against Accidents inAgriculture (federazione degli Enti M.utui rlssicurazioneInfortuni Agricoli). Besides its activities which bearstrict relation to sickness insurance, it has also contributed largely to all work of social assistance carriedout on behalf of agricultural workers suffering fromtuberculosis and other maladies and has taken part inresearch work for discovering means for the preventionand cure of malaria.

For persons engaged in Commerce there exists theNational Sickness Fund (Cassa Nazionale Malattie) ,founded by the Royal Decree of 24 October 1929,


No. 1,546, which undertakes to pay to the employeesin commercial houses, on behalf of the employers,legally represented by the National Fascist Confederationof Commerce, the indemnity which they are bound togive in cases of sickness, in conformity with the provisions of the Royal Decree of 13 November 1924,No. 1,825, on .the contract of private employment, or withthose laid down under this head in the national, provincial or local labour contracts, or by the labour rulesdrawn up by the corporations. The fund furtherengages to guarantee supplementary benefits as well asthe sickness benefits contemplated in the provisions ofthe labour contracts. This fund is likewise supportedby the contributions of the workers as well as by thoseof the employers. The sums payable by the workers,which are stopped from their wages, are lower thanthose payable by the employers. At the end of 1932,88,783 commercial firms employing 218,609 insuredpersons had become members of the Fund.

As the result of an agreement made on 30 September1930 between the National Confederation of LandTransport and Internal Navigation and the NationalConfederation of Fascist Syndicates of these services, aNational Institute for the assistance of Transport Workers (Ente Nazionale di Assistenza Addelti ai Trasporti) hasalso been established. To this Institute there may beaffiliated all institutes of social assistance and insurancepreviously established, all such institutes as may beestablished in virtue of collective contracts or of theprinciples laid down in the Labour Charter, and alsothe Regional Sickness Funds (Casse Regionali di Malattie).The objects of the Institute are: to promote the establishment of institutions for social assistance and, ingeneral, all those beneficial purposes which have beendescribed above. The greater part of the receipts of theinstitute consist, in this case also, of the contributions ofthe affiliated bodies, whether organisations of employersor of workers, but other receipts are to be anticipatedsuch as interest on the company's capital, donations, etc.

23° The Italian Corporative State

§ 3. To the second group of institutions, that is,those established under the auspices of a single Con-

federation and having no bilateral character, beInstitutionsestablished long such typical institutions as the following:-by Indi- (a) "La Pigi/e," which is attached to thevidual Con- General Fascist Confederation of Italian Infederations.

Austry, is concerned with the provision ofassistance and treatment for workers in the employmentof the affiliated firms when the victims of accidents;with the hygiene of industrial establishments; withindustrial medicine and, in general, with all such benefitsas regards hygiene and sanitation as industry owes to itsworkers in order to maintain them in good physicalhealth and consequently at a high standard of workingefficiency. In carrying out these responsibilities theinstitution undertakes to supply first aid and subsequentmedical and surgical treatment in cases of accident,and to encourage the full application of all the hygienicprovisions, general and particular, specified by thelaws in force. It utilises for these purposes the contributions of the industrial firms and institutions whichavail themselves of its services, and also the subsidies anddonations, ordinary and special, granted by institutions,organisations and private individuals.

(b) The Benito M ussolini Institute (Istituto BenitoMussolini) which, on behalf of all the insured workers inItaly, carries on a vigorous campaign against tuberculosis, a scourge which, especially after the war, hadassumed alarming proportions in Italy, A higherschool for the treatment of pulmonary diseases is attachedto the institution and is an important addition to thefacilities for the training of specialists in the cure oftuberculosis.

The Benito M ussolini Institute was promoted by theItalian manufacturers, organised in the Confederationof Industry. It was their desire to establish this greatinstitution as a complement to the infirmaries, theinstitutions for rendering first aid, and the LabourHospitals (Polic/inici del Lavoro), formed to assist or to

Social Assistance under the Corporative Regime 23I

provide treatment without charge or at nominal ratesto workers and their families.

The social aid work of the Confederation of Industryis directed and organised by the Social AssistanceOffice (Ufficio di rissistenza Socia/e). This Office alsopossesses a special service, the object of which is totrain women social workers and to prepare them forcarrying on social assistance services among the operatives in the factories.

In 1930 many of the most important Italian companies,such as the "Fiat" with all its establishments in Turin,the "Ansaldo" of Genoa and the "Solvay" of Rossignano,availed themselves of the help of these social workers,their example being followed by many smaller firms forwhom this service constitutes the most practical form ofassistance for their dependants.

The employers in industry have provided other formsof facilities for the workers in connection with housing,control of food prices, recreation, etc. The large-scaleindustrial organisation has made it easy to build workers'dwellings in the neighbourhood of the factory, whencethey derive the benefit of low rentals and of accommodation corresponding to modern hygienic requirements.The manufacturers have further taken steps to controlin various ways the prices of those goods which representthe chief items in a worker's budget. This controlconsists in some cases in the preparation by the employers of lists of the prices current for the goods mostin demand by the workers, for their guidance in marketing; in other cases, in establishing, or assisting toestablish, special stores in which the workers can, ifthey so desire, purchase goods at prices equal to or lowerthan those of the market. The first direct interventionof the large employers was in the province of Carraraat the beginning of 1925. Here the employers foundthemselves unable to grant the increase of wages forwhich the workers were agitating and therefore subsidised an independent supply store which, by its influenceon the prices of articles of primary consumption, was


expected effectively to bring about a reduction in theworkers' cost of living.

The movement for the organisation of food suppliesby manufacturers made striking progress, especially in1927. The Lombard Consortium of Employers in theMetalworking Industries (Consorzio Lombardo ira Industriali Mett'fflurgici) deserves special mention among thevarious schemes of this kind. This Consortium suppliesto the employees and workers engaged in the associatedindustries, and also to persons employed by publicdepartments if they so request, forty different kinds offoodstuffs selected from among articles of primarynecessity, at special prices fixed by agreement with theproducers, middlemen being thus eliminated. TheGovernment encouraged this movement, as well asothers of the kind, including the institution of factorystores for the workers employed by the large industrialfirms for the purpose of bringing the cost of living intocloser relation with the increased value of the Italianlira and of reducing the difference between wholesaleand retail prices. In a considerable number of firmsspecial stores have also been opened for the sale ofclothing and dress materials, white goods, shoes andwearing apparel at factory prices.

A typical example of an insurance scheme organisedby workers in favour of their own category is that ofthe printing trade, which established in 1927 its MutualInsurance and Provident Fund (Cassa di Mutua/ita ePrevidenza). This institution replaced and supplemented the Federal Funds (Casse Federali) for purposesof mutual insurance, the formation of which had beengoing on for years in the different centres among theprinters. The object of the Cassa is to insure itsmembers against unemployment, malaria, invalidity andold-age risks.

Particularly noteworthy are the schemes of socialassistance among the categories represented by theNational Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Professional Men and Astists, The most important of


these is the National Insurance Institute of ItalianJournalists (Istituto Nazionale di Previdenxa dei Giornalisti ltaliani). The Institute, founded in 1926 andincorporated by Royal Decree of 24 March 1926, setsout to provide insurance and assistance for professionaljournalists. It takes out a mixed life insurance policyfor 5°,000 liras with the National Insurance Institute(lstttuto Nazionale delle Assicurazioni) on behalf of everymember who has not reached his fifty-sixth year. Italso insures all members against accidents, professionalor otherwise, including flying risks. To the memberson whose behalf it is not possible for reasons of age toarrange the mixed insurance policy, the institute paysthe sum of 10,000 liras in State securities on the completion of their sixtieth year, provided they have beenactive journalists for at least five years, have been enrolledin the National Fascist Syndicate of Journalists andjnscribed in the Professional Register for at least twoyears. By the law of 31 December 1928, No. 3,316,all the Benevolent Insurance Funds (Casse Pie di Preuidenza) for Italian journalists and other similar institutions in the Kingdom are amalgamated with theInstitute, which recognises the rights acquired by themembers of the Benevolent Funds prior to amalgamationand pays to them, or to their widows and orphans, thepensions to which they are entitled under the variousrules and regulations of the different funds.

The National Notaries' Fund (Cassa Nazionale delNotariato) was established in 19 I 9 and succeeded tothe so-called common fund formed during the war tosubsidise the families of notaries called to the colours.The original object of the Fund was to secure fornotaries a minimum annual income by making good anydifference between the amount of the minimum limitestablished and the actual income of each individualmember. The sums required for this purpose wereobtained by an increase of So per cent on the feescharged by notaries to their clients. Subsequentlythe fund undertook to assure, not a minimum income


fixed without consideration of the length of timeduring which a notary had exercised his calling, but aminimum varying according to the number of yearsof professional service. The surplus of the sumspaid by the notaries to the fund over the sums paidto make good the minimum income was set aside toform a pension fund for the benefit of old and needymembers, as well as of widows and orphans.

Reference may also be made to the National Druggists'Provident Fund (Cassa Nazionale di Previdenza deiFarm acisti), incorporated in 1929, which supplies assistance to its members in the form of grants in cases ofillness; involuntary unemployment, old age and invalidity.This fund began its activities during. 193 I .

II. THE WORKERS' LEISURE TIME NATIONALINS1'ITLTTE (Opera Naxiosale Dopolavoro)

§ T. In the field of educational and occupationalbetterment even before the coming of Fascism, employers

Th I. had in certain cases made some provision for

e nsutute . .as an the benefit of their workers and sometimes theoutco.me of workers themselves had taken independent

ASyn? l.cal action. Fascism, realising the importance of

cnvity. h a: ed h k e ht ese ertorts to provl e t e wor ers Witfacilities for the proper recreational use of their leisure,established a special Office under the control of the Directorate of the "Party to encourage and to co-ordinate thevarious phases of the movement. This Office steadilydeveloped and assumed constantly increasing importancein Italy. In 1925 it was raised to the status of anIndependent National Institute, with the duty of "promoting the co-ordination and encouragement of institutions for the physical, educational and moral betterment of the intellectual and manual workers duringtheir non-working hours."

The change introduced by Fascism through theNational Institute into the organisation of recreationaland other forms of beneficial activities on behalf of the


workers is noteworthy inasmuch as they are giventhereby a social and political cachet which was previouslylacking.

The work of the Dopolauoro Institute gives practical form and content to that principle of collaborationand solidarity between the producing classes, which isstrongly emphasised in all Fascist laws and particularlyin the Labour Charter,

The occupational associations must support theaction of the National Institute by carrying out amongthe persons whom they represent their own specialduties of training and instruction, the latter on thevocational side. The necessity of establishing an institute for directing the recreational and educational lifeof the workers became apparent when the Fascistsyndical Corporations came into being, so that thefoundation of the National Institute is properly regardedas a necessary outcome of Italian syndical activity.

Leisure time institutes, to which reference was madein speaking of social assistance in industry, werepartly in being before the foundation of the NationalInstitute, and were for the most part established bylarge industrial firms for providing their workers withopportunities of acquiring skill in various kinds of sportor of cultivating some branch of more intellectualactivity, such as music, the drama, etc. The Electricityand Gas Company of Rome, the Terni Steelworks, etc.,may be quoted as examples of firms which gave theiremployees facilities for recreation, and it should benoted that clubs with similar objects were sometimesformed among the employees of public offices or ofprivate firms. In either case, the National Institutegave its full support to all such movements.

The funds at the disposal of the Institute, as alreadystated, are contributed in large measure by the occupational associations, so that a part of every contributionpaid by the employers to the associations to which theybelong goes to the benefit of the Workers' Leisure TimeInstitutes.


§ 2. The leisure time institutes connected with particular firms and businesses (Dopolavoro Aziendali), which

are found most frequently in connection withLeisure Time hId k e

••Institutes t e arger un erta ings, represent In practiceconnected a voluntary contribution paid by certain emwith. ployers for the physical and moral improve~%~~U~~~ ment of their own workers. Although theLeisure 'finle'I'National Institute has chiefly given its supportInstitutes to leisure time institutes under its own directin general. I hcontro, so as to ensure t at every communeand every ward of the more populous communes shouldpossess an institute, open to all members of the publicwithout distinction of category, the number of leisuretime institutes connected with individual firms has,nevertheless, increased considerably, as indicated by thefollowing statistics :--

... ~~:~~-~~:_~~~~~~---~-~-92~.T~:7'll~8. 1929. 1930'~;3~'II~~~~

Leisure Time Institutes ;t1 general(both ward and comrnunalj , . 300 1,4-5° 3,55° 5,010 7,106 8,210 9,]67

Leisure Time Institutes connectedwith particular undertakings(including Institutes connectedwith State undertakings) . . 260 761 1,259 1,670 2,139 2,2.28 2,394

The number of leisure time institutes in general isthe total number of institutes, whether newly establishedor formed by amalgamation, or by the re-organisationof existing institutions. The number of the leisuretime institutes connected with particular firms is thatof all such institutes connected with' business undertakings, etc., and includes those that are attached to theState services. They give, therefore, a general view ofthe situation. It may be noted in passing that theincreases in the last few years are due largely to theformation of institutes in connection with private firms,while the figures relating to the earlier years, 1926 and1927, include the leisure time institutes that were dueto the initiative of workers employed by public bodies.

Further evidence of the foregoing statements is pro-


vided by the statistics indicating the number of membersinscribed in these institutes, classified by occupationalcategories:-

Members. 1926. 1927. 1928. 1929. 1930. 193I. 1932.

Employed in industry . 92,858 188,289 348,018 534,397 609,655 683,851 684,413Employed in agriculture. 23,309 6o,I.p 101,210 236,816 262,619 333,599 335,102Employed in commerce I

and banking . . . 22,fi76 69,59Q 113,927 191,375 205,627 205,819 200,245Employed in transport. 8,044 23,523 43,3 05 58,612 75,771 80,809 80,429EmPIOY~d bYPUbl~~:dios '33,697 '94.785 280,,291373,826__ 468,468 468,807 I 469,380

Of the persons employed by public bodies in 1926and 1927 a large proportion were members of leisuretime institutes, but from 1928 onwards the membersemployed in industry are the most numerous and theirnumber steadily increases.

It is among members of the industrial classes, whetheremployees or workers, that leisure time institutes mostreadily flourish. This is due: (I) to the high level ofeducation and culture in the category; (2) to the factthat persons belonging to this category live in populouscentres or are collected in large groups in industrialdistricts; and further because, as already noted, theemployers in industry have encouraged and continueto encourage their formation.

The policy of the Fascist National Party is to extendthe leisure time institutes to all parts of the country sothat there may be at least one in every Italian commune.Of 7,249 Italian communes no fewer than 5,399 hadtheir own leisure time institutes by the end of 1930 andabout 6,500 by the end of 1932.

CHAPTER VIII

NOTES. ,ON SYNDICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

§ I. All those who belong to syndical associations,even when merely represented, arc bound to pay theMethods of compulsory syndical contributions. It is d~ffi.determining cuIt to lay down any general rule regardingthe com- the method by which these contributions arep~lsor'y Con- fixed.tributions . .payable by Employers In Industry are at present calledthe v~ious upon to pay monthly contributions, varying

CSyndlca~ according to the number of persons in theirategones, I havi · d f · 1emp oyment aVIng a certain egree 0 specla-

isation or paid at certain rates. Persons employed inindustry (from foremen to employees and hand workers)are, in like manner, called upon to pay monthly contributions, varying according to their degree of specialisation from a maximum sum of 8·50 liras for foremen andadministrative officers, to a minimum payment of 0· 333liras per 100 liras of remuneration for almost all workers'categories.

The employers in industry represented by the GeneralFascist Confederation of Italian Industry pay everytwo months, by means of post-office current accounts,their own contributions in respect of the salaries andwages paid by them in the preceding two months.

The contributions of the owners of house-propertyrepresented by the National Fascist Federation ofOwners of House Property are fixed on the basis of thetaxable income as estimated for the purposes of thehouse-property tax to which owners in Italy are liable.The amount of the contribution is o-30 liras for 100

liras of income.For employers in agriculture (represented by the

238

Notes on Syndical Contributions 239

National Fascist Confederation of Agriculture) thecompulsory contributions are fixed in relation to theagricultural income and to the real property income, soas to fall on tenant-farmers and on owners who do notdirectly cultivate their lands respectively. Owners whoare direct cultivators are logically compelled to payboth in respect of the agricultural income and of thereal property income. The contributions are paid bythe farmers at the same time as the taxes on agriculturalincome and on real property.

For persons employed in agriculture (employees onfarms and workers properly so-called) the compulsorysyndical contributions are fixed on the basis of thedaily wage and of an approximate estimate of the numberof days of work required for each kind of farming,including animal husbandry. These factors are determined by a mixed provincial committee, composed ofrepresentatives of the Employers' Confederation and ofthe Workers' Confederation. The amount of thecontribution varies according to the degree of specialisation of the employed person, but for ordinary labourerso-333 liras per 100 liras of wages is taken as thestandard. The contribution is deducted by the employer from the remuneration at the time of payment.

The National Fascist Confederation of Commerce isauthorised to impose on the employers whom it represents an annual aggregate of compulsory contributions,at present fixed at 42,800,000 liras. A substantialpart of this sum is obtained by the Confederation bycrediting to the employers in payment of the contributionthe interest on the caution-money which, according toItalian law, every dealer who has a shop or store, etc.,must deposit. Employers who are not called upon todeposit caution-money pay a contribution fixed inadvance and proportionate to the annual income assessedon the value of their business for purposes of incometax (imposta di richezxa mohile).

For persons employed in commerce (from technicaland administrative officials to employees represented by


the National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates ofCommerce), the amount of the compulsory contributionis fixed ill relation to the average salary of each categoryof employees. The employers, when paying salaries,deduct the contributions that employees are requiredto make.

The National Fascist Confederation of Internal Communications is authorised to impose on the employerswhom it represents an annual aggregate of compulsorycontributions at present fixed at 6,400,000 liras. Theamount of the contributions is fixed for the differentemployers as a percentage (usually 3 to 4 per cent) onthe amount of the State tax, in the case of railway,tramway and navigation companies liable to this tax, oras a percentage (usually o· 20 per cent) on the grossreturns realised on transport business in the case of firmsnot subject to the State tax or of urban motor services.

The various other groups of employers representedby the Confederation of Internal Communications whichcannot be assessed for their compulsory contributions ineither of these ways, pay in respect of each vehicle or onthe basis of assessments made case by case by theMinistry of Communications.

For persons employed in internal communications(from foremen and administrative officials to generalworkers, all represented by the National Confederationof Fascist Syndicates of Internal Communications), theamount of the compulsory contribution and the methodsof payment are precisely on all fours with those describedin the case of persons employed in' commerce. Forport workers the contribution is fixed at the rate ofo-333 liras per 100 liras of wages received.

The employers in sea transport firms represented bythe National Fascist Confederation of Sea and AirTransport pay their contributions annually. At presentthe amounts are determined on the basis of the numberof persons employed and of the average salaries andwages paid to them in accordance with the tablesappended to the law -of 1930 on the system of syndical

Notes on Syndical Contributions 24 I

contributions. The amount of the contribution variesaccording as it refers to owners of vessels of more orof less than 500 tons displacement. For personsemployed in sea and air transport services, whetherholding officers' rank or simple workers, the compulsorycontribution is fixed on the basis of the average remuneration determined according to the tables appended to thelaw above-mentioned. The contribution is paid by theworkers by means of a deduction made by the shipowner through the medium of the paymaster in proportion to the period covered by the remuneration.The employer pays the sums deducted every threemonths by means of post office current accounts.

For the employers and workers in banking houses,represented respectively by the National Fascist Confederation of Credit and Insurance and by the NationalConfederation of Fascist Syndicates of Credit andInsurance, the amount of the contribution is determinedby a mixed ministerial committee. This committee,of which the chairman is an official of the Ministry ofCorporations, includes representatives of the differentcategories of employers and employees and fixes theamount of the contributions for employers and employeeson the basis of the average remuneration of the variousgroups of employed persons.

The employers pay their own contributions once ayear and at the same time those of the persons in theiremployment by a deduction of the prescribed percentagefrom the salaries paid.

For persons exercising an independent intellectualprofession the contribution is fixed at the rate of I

per cent of the taxable income as estimated for purposesof income tax.

In the case of persons who, although represented bythe Confederation of Professional Men and Artists, donot carryon any avocation to which the system offixing the contribution just described is applicable,the amount is settled by special committees subject toapproval by the Ministry.


For workers employed by professional men theamount of the contribution is fixed by the NationalConfederation of Fascist Syndicates by which they arerepresented, in proportion to the average remunerationin each category.

The payment is made in two half-yearly instalmentsat the saIl),~ time as the last instalment of direct taxes,falling due in the half-year.'

§ 2. Besides these compulsory contributions payableby all persons engaged in a profession or trade, and alsoOther types by owners of house-property, and accordinglyo~ CO?- falling on all persons represented by the varioustributions. occupational associations, there are additionalcontributions payable by individuals regularly inscribedas members of occupational associations. These areknown as supplementary contributions and differ fromthe compulsory contributions in the method of calculation and in the purposes to which they are applied.In fact, the supplementary are not so fixed as are thecompulsory contributions as to correspond to the professional income or to the wages of the member, butusually take the form of a fixed sum payable periodicallyor once only. While the compulsory contributionsserve, broadly speaking, for fulfilling the public serviceof "corporative organisation" and other collateral purposes definitely laid down, these supplementary contributions are used to supplement the income of theindividual occupational association for the direct andexclusive advantage of their internal working.

For the purpose of clearly defining the syndicalcontributions so as to keep them within reasonablelimits, a Royal Decree dated 4 April 1929 distinguishesthree kinds of contributions as payable, should thecompetent Confederation so decide, with the approvalof the Ministry. These contributions are as follows:-

I. Contributions for membership cards and badges;

1 It is stated on credible authority that the compulsory contributions provideat least 40 per cent of the income of the occupational associations. For thestatistics of compulsory syndical contributions received, see tables in Appendix B.

Notes on Syndical Contributions 243

2. Membership contributions in addition to theforegoing, the amount of which may be fixed from yearto year within certain limits by the competent Confederation at the time of the approval of the estimates.For example, new members may be called upon to payan entrance fee;

3. Optional contributions which members can onlybe called upon to pay in order to meet special butabsolutely necessary expenditure for which no otherresources are available. These contributions may becontinuous for a period not exceeding ten years and mustalways be imposed by vote of a special majority of theregular members, subject to the usual safeguards, as inthe case of other kinds of contribution.

§ 3. Syndical contributions are regarded by somepublicists in Italy as a specific tax imposed for theCharacter- maintenance of a determined public service,istics of which may be described as "the corporativeSyndical organisation of the productive categories."Contribu- In their view the character of this tax is showntions.

by the selection of the contributors who areheld liable to pay, inasmuch as they participate in theeconomic and social life of the country. On the otherhand, according to other students of the science offinance, syndical contributions are comparable to taxes,only to the same extent as the contributions to anyprivate association for membership in which some formof contribution is an essential condition.

According to the present writer, the second interpretation ascribes too little importance to the unquestionable fact that, in the corporative system, all citizens andalso foreigners living in the kingdom and in any waydirectly concerned with production, even if only asowners of house-property, are compelled to pay at anyrate the compulsory syndical contribution. This factproves that, in the intention of the legislator, thesyndical contribution is much more important than themembership contribution paid to an association, evenif it be a recognised public association, and that it


represents, not so much a tax imposed to meet the costof a particular service, as a general contribution payableby all citizens taking any part in the process of production, and allocated as a whole, not only to financingthe corporative organisation properly so-called, but alsoto various purposes such as benefit funds, education,etc.

APPENDIX A

THE LABOUR CHARTER 1

THE CORPORATIVE STATE AND ITS ORGANISATION

I.-The Italian Nation is an organism endowed with a purpose,a life and means of action transcending those of the individuals,or groups of individuals, composing it. It is a moral, politicaland economic unit which finds its integral realisation in theFascist State.

II.-Work, in all its various forms-directive and executive,intellectual, technical and manual-is a social duty. On thesegrounds, and on these grounds alone, it is protected by the State.

From the National standpoint, the whole body of productionis a single unit; it has one and a single object-namely, the wellbeing of the individuals and the development of national power.

II I.-Syndical or occupational organisation is free. But syndicates legally recognised and subject to State control alone havethe right legally to represent the whole category for which theyare constituted; to protect its interests in relations with the State,and with other occupational associations; to stipulate collectivelabour contracts binding on all members of the category, to levycontributions and to exercise on its account the public functionsdelegated to them.

IV.-The concrete expression of the solidarity existing betweenthe various factors in production is represented by the collectivelabour contract, which conciliates the conflicting interests ofemployers of labour and of workers, subordinating them to thehigher interests of production.

V.-The Labour Court is the organ through which the State. intervenes in order to settle labour disputes, whether arising from

the observance of contracts or other existing rules or from theformulation of new labour conditions.

VI.-The legally recognised occupational associations ensure

1 The Labour Charter is not a set of specific rules, but a general scheme oflegal principles on which present Italian legislation on industrial and economicrelations is based.

Appendix A

legal equality between employers and workers, maintain disciplinein production and labour and promote the betterment of both.

The Corporations constitute the unitary organisation of theforces of production and represent all their interests.

In virtue of this integral representation, and in view of thefact that the interests of production are the interests of the Nation,the law recognises the Corporations as State organs.

The Corporations, as representing the interests of productionas a whole, may, whenever they are vested with the necessarypowers by the syndical associations, lay down compulsory rulesconcerning the discipline of labour relations as well as the coordination of production.

V I1.-The Corporative State considers that, in the sphere ofproduction, private initiative is the most effective and valuableinstrument in the interests of the Nation.

In view of the fact that the private organisation of productionis a function of national concern, the organiser of the enterpriseis responsible to the State for the management of its production.Collaboration between the forces of production gives rise toreciprocal rights and duties. The worker, whether technician,employee or labourer, is an active collaborator in the economicenterprise, responsibility for the direction of which rests with theemployer.

VIII.-Occupational associations of employers are required topromote by all possible means an increase and an improvementin production and a reduction in costs. The representatives ofthose who follow a liberal profession or an art and the associationsdepending on the State unite for the protection of the interestsof art, of science and of letters, for the improvement of processesof production and for achieving the moral aims of the corporativesystem.

IX.-State intervention in economic production arises onlywhen private initiative is lacking or is inadequate, or when Statepolitical interests are involved. This intervention may take theform of control, of assistance and of direct management.

X.-In collective labour controversies judicial action cannotbe invoked unless the corporative body has first tried conciliation.

Occupational associations have the right, in individual disputesconcerning the interpretation and the application of collective labourcontracts, to employ thei r good officesfor the purpose of conciliation.

The ordinary courts are competent to deal with such disputes,assisted by experts appointed by the occupational associationsconcerned.

The Labour Charter 247

COLLECTIVE LABOUR CONTRACTS AND LAB,OURGUARANTEES

X I.-Occupational associations are required to regulate bymeans of collective contracts the labour relations existing betweenthe various categories of employers of labour and of workersrepresented by them.

The collective labour contract is stipulated between minorassociations under the direction and the control of the centralorganisations, except in the event of the exercise of the powerof substitution by the higher grade association in the cases specifiedby the law or by the statutes.

Every collective labour contract must, under pain of nullity)contain precise rules on disciplinary relations, period of probation,amount and payment of remuneration and hours of work.

XII.-The action of the syndicate, the work of conciliationof the corporative bodies and the decisions of the labour courtshall guarantee that wages shall correspond to the normal exigencies of life, to the possibilities of production and to the outputof labour.

Wages shall be fixed without reference to any general rulesas a matter of agreement between the parties to the collectivecontracts.

XIII.-The data supplied by the Public Administrations, bythe Central Statistical Office and by the legally recognised occupational associations regarding conditions of production and ofwork, the situation of the money market and the variations inthe workers' standard of living shall, after having been co-ordinatedand compiled by the Ministry of Corporations, supply the standardfor harmonizing the interests of the various categories and classesone with the other and with the higher interests of production.

XIV.-Payment shall be made in the form most suitable tothe needs of the workmen and of the enterprise.

When the payment is by piece and the amounts due thereunderare paid at intervals of more than a fortnight adequate weekly orfortnightly sums on account are payable.

Night work, with the exception of ordinary regular nightshifts, must be paid at a higher rate than day work.

When the work is paid at piece-rate, the rate must be suchthat a diligent workman of normal working capacity shall be ableto earn a minimum amount over and above the basic wage.

XV.-The worker has the right to a weekly day of rest whichshall fall on the Sunday.

Appendix A

Collective contracts shall apply this principle while taking intoaccount any rules in force, the technical requirements of theenterprise; and within the limits of such requirements shall seethat civil and religious holidays are observed in accordance withlocal traditions. The working time-table must be scrupulouslyand zealously observed by the worker.

XVI.-After the expiry of a year of uninterrupted service inan undertak~ng requiring continuous service the worker has theright to an annual paid holiday.

XVI I.-In undertakings requiring continuous service theworker has the right, in the event of a cessation of labour relationsas a result of discharge through no fault of his own, to an indemnityproportionate to his years of service. A similar indemnity is alsodue in the event of the worker's death.

XVIII.-In undertakings requiring continuous service a transfer to other hands shall not put an end to the labour contractand the workers employed preserve their rights with regard tothe new employer. Similarly, the illness of the worker, providedit does not exceed a certain period, does not determine the labourcontract. Call to military service, or to service in the FascistMilitia is not good ground for discharge.

XIX.-Breachcs of discipline or acts which disturb the normalworking of the undertaking on the part of the workers, shall bepunished according to the gravity of the offence, by fine, bysuspension from work or, in more serious cases, by immediatedischarge without compensation. The cases for which theemployer can impose fines, suspension from work or immediatedischarge without payment of compensation shall be specified.

XX.-A worker, on taking up a new post, must undergo aprobationary period; both parties have a right to the cancellationof the contract by payment only of the wage or salary for theti me of actual service.

XXI.-The privileges and control of the collective labourcontract extend also to home workers. Special rules shall beissued by the State in order to secure proper control and hygienein home work.

EMPLOYMENT BUREAUS

XXII.-The State alone can ascertain and control the phenomenon of the employment and unemployment of workers,which provides a general index of the conditions of productionand of labour.

The Laoour Charter

XXIII.-Employment bureaus are constituted on a bilateralbasis and subject to control by the corporative organ of the State.Employers are required to engage workers through these bureaus.They have the right of choice among the persons registered,given a preference to those who are members of the Party andof the F aseist Syndicate, according to their seniority on the register.

XXIV.-The occupational associations of workers are requiredto exercise a process of selection among the workers, with theobject of the constant improvement of their technical qualifications and personal qualities.

XXV.-The corporative organs shall see to the observance ofthe laws on the prevention of accidents, and on the discipline ofthe work of the members of the federated associations.

PRINCIPLES OF PROVIDENCE, SOCIAL ASSISTANCE,TRAINING AND EDUCATION

XXVI.-Provident insurance is an important expression ofthe principle of collaboration. The employer and the workershould both bear a proportional share of the burden. The State,through the medium of the corporative bodies and of the occupational associations, shall see to the co-ordination and unification,so far as possible, of the system and of the various providentinsti tu tions.

XXVII.-The Fascist State proposes:-(i) the development of the system of accident insurance;(ii) the improvement and extension of maternity insurance;(iii) a system of insurance against industrial diseases and

tuberculosis as a step towards insurance against all forms ofsickness;

(iv) the development of insurance against involuntaryunemployment;

(v) the adoption of special forms of endowment insurancefor young workers.

XXVIII.-The workers' associations are required to act asguardians of those whom they represent in administrative andjudicial proceedings arising out of accident and social insurance.

Collective labour contracts shall establish mutual sickness funds,whenever technically possible, through contributions provided byemployers and workers, to be administered by representatives ofboth parties, under the supervision of the corporative organ.

XXIX.-The social assistance of the individuals represented,whether members or non-members, is a right and a duty of the .

Appendix A

occupational associations. The associations must exercise, directly,through their own organs their functions of social assistance andmay not delegate them to other bodies or institutions, except forpurposes of a general nature, transcending the interests of particular categories.

XXX.-The training and education, especially the vocationaleducation, of the individuals they represent, whether enrolledmembers or otherwise, is one of the principal duties of the occupational associations. These associations are required to workside by side with the National Leisure Time Institution (Dopolavoro) and other educative institutions.

APPENDIX B

SYNDICAL ASSOCIATIONS OF EMPLOYERS

legally recognised as on I February 1933

~.~

National Confederations of Employers. I ~I. ]

Qo

U

Associations ofSecond

Degree.·

Unitary TerritorialAssociations.

2.

4

10

21

I I

93

108

~-~~:~;;~s-~;~t~~nfederationof 1---Italian Industry. . .. 41

2.. National Fascist Confederation Iof Fanners. . . . . .

3. National Fascist Confederationof Commerce. . I I 14

4. National Fascist confederation

l

l, 1

of Internal Communications I I 3

1

5. National Fascist Confederation !

of Sea and Air Transport . I I

6. National Fascist Confederation I'

of Credit and Insurance. . I

I

__~::~_L L~J~5~~__~-120• Consisting of Unitary Territorial Associations.

Appendix B

SYNDICAL ASSOCIATIONS OF WORKERS

legally recognised as on 1 February 1933----------:---

National Confederations of Workers.II.

4-0 * Unitary Terri..VI e ~ torial Associa-

• ~_ (I) 4J~ a~ tions.

~ ·~C ~

~ I·~ g (OJ l.~ ·n8 ~ ~ s ~.5 .S

I V) ~ ~ ~ ~

----J-- z E.. 0:

I. National Confederation of Fascist Industrial Sydi cates

2. National Confederation of Fascist Agricultural Syndicates.

3. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Commerce .

4. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Land 'Transport and InternalNavigation Workers

5. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Employees in Banks and Insurance Offices

6. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Seamen and Airmen

12

5

6

6

3

5

4

16

14

110

99

99

23

5

TOTAL 6 32 I 1 I

• Consisting of Unitary Territorial Associations.

SYNDICAL ASSOCIATIONS OF PROFESSIONAL MEN AND ARTISTS

legally recognised as on I February 1933-------------:--_._-----------------------

III.

Unitary Territorial Associations .

Associations

ofSecond '3Degree, 0

Na- E-ttionalSydicates.

-----------1-------- ---.------- ---National Confederation of

Professional Men andArtists IZ 180 44 lz6 ZI I,0~6

-.----------.------:---=-------.,,;...--.:..--....:..__..:..-__..1-..__

. 2,800,000543,486

Statistical Tahles

NUMBER OF FIRMS OR INDIVIDUALS REPRESENTED AND OF MEMBERS INTHE SYNDICAL ASSOCIATIONS OF EMPLOYERS OF LABOUR (AS ON 31

DECEMBER 1932)

I. General Fascist Confederation of Italian Industry:Firms or individuals representedid., members

2. National Fascist Confederation of Farmers:Firms or individuals representedid., members

3. National Fascist Confederation of Commerce:Firms or individuals represented 747,884id., members 365,422

4. National Fascist Confederation of Internal Communications:Firms or individuals represented 2.9,682id., members 11,576

5. National Fascist Confederation of Credit and Insurance:Firms or individuals representedid., members

6. National Fascist Confederation of Sea and Air Transport:Firms or individuals represented 2,038id., members 1,465

7. Independent Fascist Federation of the Artisan Communities of Italy:Firms or individuals represented 550,000id., members 148,805

NUMBER OF PERSONS REPRESENTED AND OF MEMBERS IN THE SYNDICAL

ASSOCIATIONS OF WORKERS (AS ON 31 DECEMBER 1932.)

I. National Confederation of Fascist Industrial Syndicates:Persons represented . 2,160,602

id., members . 1,654,34°2. National Confederation of Fascist Agricultural Syndicates:

Persons represented . 2,815,778id., members . 1,659,01 I

3. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Commerce:Persons represented 65 0 , 0 0 0

id., members 35 0 ,632

4. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Land Transport andInternal Navigation Workers:

Persons represented 3°3,352-id., members 0 0 0 0 0 194,23°

5. National Cor-federation of Fascist Syndicates of Employees in Banks andInsurance Offices:

Persons represented 47,996id., members 0 33,781

6. National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of Seamen and Airmen:Persons represented 12 4 , 64 8id., members • 0 0 5°,771;

7. National Confederation of Professional Men and Artists:Persons representedido, members

Appendix B

SYNDICAL CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED·

Confedera tions.

1930. 1931· I 193z.

-~- A::~nt ----I~:~: ~:~ntpaid to I paid to paid to

the Con- the Con- the Con-Gross federa- Gross federa- I Gross federa-

Amount. tions and Amount. tions and'IAmount. tiona and

to the I to the to theMinor Minor MinorA~socia- A~socia. As.socia-

tions. tions. tiona.I I

I---------~-------------_·_· -In thousands of liras.

-------_.--- -------'------:

49,7 82 67,473 I 5°,5 23

I39,ZI8!63,Z59 45,546

3°,77° 139,937128,754

i I

1'764 1 2,784 2,004

5,2° 7 i 6'94 2 4,99 8

I

3,1841 4,88z 3,796

. I

6'4791 9,505 6,843

Employers.I. General Fascist Con

federation of ItalianIndustry

2. National Fascist Confederation of Farrr.ers

3. National Fascist Confederation of Com-merce

4. National Fascist Confederation of Sea andAir Transport .: 2,43° 1,75° 2,450

5. National Fascist Con- Ifederation of Internal!Communications . I 6,69 8 4,823 7,23 2

6. National Fascist Con- Ifederation of Credit Iand Insurance. • I 5,678 4,114 4,255

7· Independent Fascist I

Federation of the II

Artisan Communi-ties of Italy 8,036 5,786 8,985

i 1 _

• These are compulsory contributions.

Statistical Tables

SYN nrcxt, CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED • (continued)

Net

1932 •193I.

Net

193°· I,--.-_--r- I ~---I------.

I Net IAmount IAmount I Amountpaid to paid to ! paid to

the con-I ; the Con-: the Con-Gross federa- Gross I federa- i Gross federa-

Amount. tions andi'Amount. tions and'Amount, tions andto the to the I to theMinor I Minor i Minor

Associa- Associa- : Associa-

_____~ions. 1___ tions"j ~ions._

Confederations.

In thousands of liras.

Workers.'I. National Confederation

of Fascist IndustrialSyndicates. 4°,194 28,828 39,29 6 2.8,293 31,712 22.,831

2. National Confederationof Fascist Agricul-tural Syndicates 11,112 8,000 13,568 9,7 69 19,593 14, 1°7

3· National Confederationof Fascist Syndicatesof Commerce 8,907 6,4 10 9,4° 1 6,7 68 10,069 7,249

4· National Confederationof Fascist Syndicatesof Land Transportand Internal Navi-gation Workers 5,4 1 5 3,9°0 5,067 3,64 8 I 4,55 2 3,277

5· National Confederation Iof Fascist Syndicates I

of Seamen and Air-men 2,7°7 1,993 2,457 1,808 2,1 15 1,557

6. National Confederationof Fascist Syndicatesof Employees inBanks and InsuranceOffices • 2,000 1,440 1,35° 97 2 1,3 14 946

7· National Confederationof Professional Menand Artists 6,967 5,016 9,3 88 6,759 7,9 13 5,697

• These are compulsory contributions.

t'- _

Appendix B

COLLECTIVE LABOUR CONTRACTS

I. National and Inter-provincial Collective Labour Contracts

- -_·.. ·_-~-----o----I-~-~·~ ~ uI~ ~!~ uB t ::! c e t 1--0 &!.g t)~ ~ 8 I ~ ~ .. I ~ rn I: .. ~u --0 S "'0 ~ I C'lS ~ Il~ 5 ~.~ .s 0 ca ; &oi ~ ~ e~<t. u ~ 1

m j~---- .-.~~....... --\--'----

Contracts, deposited, from the date II

when the law carne into force371till 3 I December 1910 17 100 53 66 8 1- 281

!in 1931 5 38 6 9 49 I 12 1- 119in 1932 2 36 10 46 52 ! 15 5 166

Contracts, published, from the dateI I

when the law came into force tillI

I I31 December 1930 8 54 42 57 21

! 7 \ 189Iin 193I 3 19 8 I I 12 5 1- 58in 1932 4 38 I : 42 38 13 I 3 139

Ii' II I I-~ .......-.-......-... ,..-_-~~ ...- ~ ,......---------~--- ~'--'-'---~----------"-~---------------"---

~OLLECTIVE LABOUR CONTRACTS

2. Provincial Collective Labour Contracts

cU~QJ

EEoo

Contracts, arranged, fromthe date when the lawcame into force till31 December 1930 1,0 29 4,507 : 875 74 I 744 27

in 1931 196 762 I 246~

I

271iin 1932 222 893 153 20 I 217

Contracts, published, fromIthe date when the lawIcame into force till I

31 December 1930 443 1,262 417 41

1

5IIin 193I

'I168 637 245 8 244 I

in 1932 113 718 112 3712431--, ..--------_._-

- 17,256- 11,484II 11,517

2,6741,3°3

I I 1,244

Statistical Tables

MUTUAL AID AND INSURANCE FUNDS FOR INDUSTRIAL WORKERS

IN ITALY----~----------~

Position as at theEnd of 1931.'

Position as at theEnd of 1932.

Institutions.

Number Number II Number Numberof Insti- of of I~sti- oftutions, Members. tutions, Members.

Es:~lished b~-~nd~~~~-As:::i::ions: --- '-------II--~(a) in connection with individual I

Firms 881 438'512 11,474(b) in connection with a number !I

of grouped Firms. 61 117,955 114 2 ° 3,°43(c) OccupationalFunds . 27Z_~?7'468 I~I 588, I I4

Total I, 2 14 933,935 I I,875 ' I,Z93,875

Independent Institutions - I~ 59,IOZ -,----.- ----

GENERAL TOTAL 993,°37

• In 1932 the Independent Institutions were transformed and are now groupedwith the Institutions established by the Syndical Associations.

NATIONAL INDEX NUMBER FOR COST OF LIVING

(first six months of 1914 = 100)-- ------_..- --

I

Index Index IndexYears. Num- Years. Num- Years. Num-

ber, ber, bert

....~--~~- --

1914 (first six 1923 411.9 -1929 445.6months) 100·0 1924 426.4 193° 43°·5

1919 268·1 1925 479. 0 1931 388'7192O 352.3 1926 516"7 1932- 37°·31921 416.8 192 7 472"4192 2 4 14"3 1928 437. 8

Appendix B

AVERAGE DECEMBER RATES OF WAGES PER HOUR

(N.B.-These figures are given by the General Fascist Confederation ofIndustryandart calculated on a varying number of establishments.)

Years and Months.

December:1928

19291930

1931

1932

Figures for Wages Index Figures for Wagtscalculated in relation to considering the Averagethe Percentage Varia.. of the Wages paidtions as from February during period July 192.8-

1928. June 192.9 as :::: 100

I

(liras). (liras 1,989)'

i-- - _.. --_.- a ••_. __----·

-~ ._-~-- -.....--.------

I101'6i 2'02

I 2.'03 102.' II

I

1'90 95'51'78 89'51'72 86,S

~--~-------~-_._." ._---~----~-~~-~---

LABOUR DISPUTES-I

Number of Strikes, Number of Strikers. ! Number! Number, . f of!--~--- --;----- --, . ~ ------~ ------ ----- -- ; 0 I WorkersI I I! I I' Lock.. , L k d: Total., Agric.\ Indus.] Total. ,Agricultural., Industry. • outs. I (lut~

..~----I-. - ----I _. -------~ -1'----1---1- -

1914- I 864- 82. I 782. 2.22.,4-82. 4-9,379 173,1°3 1 12 I 9,36719 15 I 607 68 I 539 179,934 47,798 I 132,13 6 ! 2 561916 577 61 516 138,508 14,892 i 123,6161 3 I 424-1917 I 47° 27 443 174,817 6,191 I 168,626

1

1 2 I 180I91g I 313 10 303 158,711 675 158,036 3 I 74°1919 1,871 208 1,66311,554,566 505,12811,049,438 j 8 I 4,8221920 /2,070 189 1,881'2,]13,685 1,°45,732 1,267,953 16 18,1131921 ! r.r 34 89 1,045! 723,862 79,298 ! 644,564 66 I 60,279192 2 I 575 23 552 I 447,9 19 25,146 1 422,773 37 18,8291923 I 201 1 2.00! 66,2 13 1101 66,103 14 7,1451924 I 362 6 356 ! 183,725 2,713 18I,01Z 6 3,4171925 I 614

1 10 6041 3°7,244 2,693

1

.3°4,55 1 4- 989192.6 (first I 26

1

' 1 I 2. 5 23,395 I 6

1

23,379 I 70six months)iii

Statistical Tables

LABOUR DISPUTES-II

I Strikes. Lockouts.

1- .-----II' Number of Cases Number of Indi- ! Num-

Years. Reported. viduals Reported. Num- I ber ofI ber of I diI I Cases .n I-

II ! I I 1 R - viduals

T t 1 ! A~ri- I In- Ttl Agri- I In- te

d Re-o a • I 1 'd loa. 1 d por e • dI ICU ture. ustry, : cu ture. ustrv. , porte

19~ont~~t Sixl·-~;-~-2-- -~4---:I-:I-:: 3 141927 . • j 154 5 149 18,6331 1,881 1

16,752 15 271928 . 69 6 63 I 2,964 i 59 i 2,9°5 8 351929 • I 74 6 68 I 3,222 I 180 3,°42 9 30

::~:~t~~rS~_Si~ I :: _~: ..~: I :::::.L.;:: I.:;~: 7 ::

• More recent figures were not yet available at the end of April, 1933.

N .B.-The first Table on Labour Disputes was prepared by the Ministryof Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, which became the Ministry ofNational Economy and hence of the Corporations. 'The second Table, afterthe Law of 3 April 1926 came into force, was compiled by the Ministry ofJustice. The two Tables are thus not strictly comparable.

Absolutelyfreecompetitionis atheoreticalcase .n aMarket.

APPENDIX C

THE ECONOMIC BASIS OF ARBITRATIONIN REGARD TO LABOUR

I

§ I. I nstead of taking theoretical considerations on free competition as our point of departure, it seems to be preferable, in

present circumstances, to note to what extent economic freedom is practically applied in the market.

Contemporary economists have been at some painsto bring up to date the definition of competitionformulated by their predecessors. Rarely has a conception held to be infallible and fundamental undergone so many limitations in a relatively brief period

as has that of competition, from Bastiat to Marshall. Marshallreduces the present conception of free competition to that offreedom of industry and of enterprise, identifying that freedomwith a certain customary independence in choosing one's ownpath, subordinating one's acts to a calculation, not merely immediate, of one's own interests.!

Free competition may, according to the English economist, bethe consequence of this freedom, which is characteristic of ourepoch. Such freedom may give rise to every type of combinationand form of co-operation.

I t is very likely that the English economists of the last fiftyyears, in putting forward such affirmations, were taking accountprincipally of conditions in their own country, at a time of comparative stability in industrial production. In fact the type ofcompetition which these economists have for the most part beforetheir eyes corresponds fairly closely with type (h) defined byMarshall in his Industry and Trade as "ordinary business competition in which each of several neighbourly producers ortraders endeavours to get ahead of the others; but neither makes

1 Marshall, Principles of Economics, 4th edition, Chap. I, § 4.

260

The Economic Basis of Arbitration 26I

nor tolerates the making by others, harsh judgment of theiractions." 1

At the present time anyone who referred to competition ofthis kind would be aiming at an ideal type, certainly not corresponding with actual conditions. Marshall himself admits, inspeaking of the various ways in which monopoly influences prices,that in a really open market competition is often constructive andnot ungenerous, but that, when a giant business 2 is striving toobtain a monopoly, the field of free competition is restricted andferocious and unscrupulous methods of economic struggle increase.

§ 2. The barriers against the free circulation of goods and ofindividuals in economic exchanges are daily increasing to suchan extent that the case of complete fluidity in economic relationsseems more and more to be a theoretical conception from whichFree it is hazardous to draw deductions.competition I t is possible to give, in words, illustrations of somerenders the intermediate cases in the equilibrium of exchanges,Market while it is doubtless very difficult to describe the caseperfect. of absolute fluidity even when one is willing con-siderably to restrict the economic field. By means of the formulaeof mathematical economists one can study a situation which inpractice has never occurred. It is, no doubt, useful to knowhow the various factors of production in a market would adjustthemselves if the obstacles which render it imperfect were notplaced in the way of competition. Every individual who remainsunsatisfied contributes towards putting the machinery of production in motion with a view to a better adjustment. Increasingindefinitely the number of individuals the number of exchangesis also indefinitely increased; since each individual is supposed toBut New be free to make arrangements with any other individualhindrances in order to arrive at the condition which best suitsarise daily him; hence the price tends to be equal to the lowestto t~~ cost of production. No conception which in any wayconcrete h· d h· has jn uracti d brealisation In ers t IS movement as In practice prove to eof this better than that which favours it. The differences

. Theoretical that occur in regard to free competition do not soCase. much arise from one theory which allows it and considers it advantageous and another theory which denies it andconsiders it harmful as from the practical possibilities of perfecting it that the modern economic world offers.

1 Marshall, Industry and Trade, Book III, Chap. XIV, § 6, P: 653.Macmillan, 1923.

i Ope cit., Book III, Chap. I, § 1, P: 396.

Appendix C

In terms of distribution it is certain that free competition distributes savings amongst various employments in such a way thatby their application to production, the largest increase in aggregateproduction 1 is obtained and that the net rates of interest on thevarious kinds of capital is equal to the interest on savings, butthis certainty is subordinated to such and to so many conditionsas to limit in practice the truth of the principle.

§ 3. Many of the more important questions that agitate themodern economic world relate to the supply of raw materials andof capital. The localities in which raw materials are obtainableand the concentration of financial means in certain markets directthe currents of commerce in a uniform manner. Entire countriesare subjected to the monopoly of other countries in respect ofcertain products and so both new industrial undertakings and oldestablished ones requiring capital depend on those who possess itand they, being necessarily bound together, fix the conditions ofloans in a manner admitting of little variation.

Ethical questions have been discussed in the past with referenceto more or less transcendental speculations whereby welfare andEthical what is good were identified with opinions inspired byMo:i ves in religious or philosophical tendencies. At the presentPolitics time the main effort is to attain the greatest socialand in" well-being and it is sought to secure for every indi-Economics. vidual the greatest possible quantity of goods and ofservices so that the standard of living may be raised as high aspossible for everyone. The aims of economists, of politiciansand of sociologists do not seem to be inspired by tendencies towardsany particular religious or moral good; it seems to be desired togive to everyone, theoretically, the individual possibility of believing what suits him best) while it is attempted to bring withinthe reach of everyone, in all places, a certain possibility of satisfying their needs, tastes and demands being toa considerable extentrendered uniform. To this result it seems that there is a tendencyin practice whether it is sought to reduce Government intervention to the minimum) leaving to the State the function of intervening in extreme cases of difficulty in regard to distribution) orthe duty is assigned to the State of providing for the productionand distribution of goods, the State becoming owner of all themeans of production while the individual becomes a dependant ofthe State or holds the means of production in usufruct.

In regard to the effective application of economic freedom in

1 Barone, Principi, p. 24. Athenaeum, Rome, 19~o.

The Economic Basis of Arbitration 263

the markets, both tendencies contribute very little to-day to theattainment of complete competition. Where Government intervention is rare and the law intervenes only in extreme cases,combines are formed and impose their own interests on classesless well-organised or less easily organised. The anti-trust lawsin the United States of America are an example of the meagreresults of opposing the spontaneous generation of some forms ofmonopoly in conditions adapted to them; the flourishing existenceof workers' unions, strongly organised and controlling the labourmarket in certain trades in England, shows how, even in a countrywhere economic freedom is traditional, free competition is to alarge extent limited in one of the most important factors of production. In a State which concentrates in its own hands themeans of production and still more in a Collectivist State the priceof labour, as of many other services, tends everywhere to be keptarti ficially at the same level; the supply is controlled and newmonopolies, trusts and combinations are progressively formed asproduction passes under the control of an oligarchy representingthe community.

II

§ I. At the present time individualism seems to find no placeexcept in the ethical views of persons who themselves, as producers, tend more and more to organise collectively so as to haveDominating greater weight in the public economy and in the disInfluence of tribution of National Income. It is not easy to foreEconomic see what influence the growing spirit of corporateMotives on activity will have in changing individual psychology.Labour. h d .It may be ope that It will strengthen the ethical,rather than strictly economic, impulse towards co-operation andthat, side by side with the sense of individual dignity, and risingabove it, will be developed a sense of collective and social dignity.

Contemporaneously with the modern systems of productionand in consequence of the well-known effects of industrialisation,the workers, like other social classes, have endeavoured by com-

o bination to find the strength to resist in the play of conflictingcurrents of production. Marshall treats the characteristics oflabour exhaustively in his Elements.r We refer anyone who maywish to see a full statement of the disadvantages under whichthe worker suffers in offering his services to the employer to thework of the English economist, and lay stress on the fact that

1 Marshall, Elements, pp. ~63 et seq. Macmillan, 1925.T

SecondaryInfluence ofEthical andSocialMotives.

Appendix C

collective action, through the various forms of "Combinations,"helps to reduce the evils resulting from these disadvantages. By"Combination" is meant a group of individuals who, havingsimilar tastes, usually tend to have similar objects. Thus anassociation of individuals exercising the same profession or tradetends to bring about a certain systematisation of production. Theworkers' Combinations have a double object, the one economic,the other ethical and social. The economic motives seem hithertoto have had most influence in the life of the workers' organisations.

Such motives have often been the necessary and sufficient reason of the prosperity of workers' Combinations. The same cannot be said of the ethical andsocial motives in view of the examples to be found inthe history of the Christian Unions and of many

leagues, syndicates and alliances, whether socialistic or of anyother colour or tendency.

Labour as a commodity depends on a number of circumstances,which vary according to the place and to the time. The wagesand skill of the workers, the customs and methods of work, thepsychology of the employers and workers, differ greatly fromregion to region. The ties of interest between the workingclasses in different nations arc uncertain and changeable, so thatin spite of sentimental aspirations towards internationalism, labourevents have hitherto had an indirect influence, and not a particularly striking one, from country to country. The tendencyof workers to emigrate from over-populated countries to countries less densely populated by way of economic adjustment is atthe present time almost universally impeded by every nation forvarious reasons, chiefamong which are the sentiment of nationalismand the desire felt by every people to assure to itself at a certainmoment the highest possible standard oflife. The free movementsof the supply of labour on the world markets are.necessarily hinderedfor reasons both intrinsic and extrinsic and thus the workers'Combinations have inevitably tended hitherto, as Lorwin 1 acutelyobserves in his latest book, to remain a national phenomenon.

§ 2. That this is the position of the working classes of theProbable different countries in relation to one another seemsChange to us to be indisputable, but there is nothing to showi~ thi~ that this position must remain indefinitely the same.Situation. It is probable that with the increase of economicknowledge and of the means of communication to spread it, the

1 Lorwin, Labor and Internationalism, P: 610. The Macmillan Co, 192 9.

The Economic Basis of Arbitration 2,6S

working classes may tend to come to an understanding betweenthemselves with a view to stabilising the supply of labour, justas the strongest producers of certain goods endeavour to stabilisethe prices of such goods in the various markets. In presentcircumstances the hope of an international stabilisation of thelabour market seems to be merely the aspiration of a few thinkers;but the disadvantageous effects on the condition of individuals andon the general economy resulting from the want of stabilisationare such, that it is by no means improbable that the more intelligentamong the workers win become convinced, as time goes on, ofthe necessity of international stabilisation and that it may in thefuture enter into the order of practical proposals.

III

§ I. The elementary case of barter between two parties in aclosed market, taking account of the relation between the marginalutilities of the two articles, has generally been considered as aproblem "more curious than important." 1

In consequence of the many Combinations that have beenformed on the markets in recent years, the number of contractingElementary parties in the purchase and sale of different commoditiescaseof has been considerably reduced. This is particularlyBarter evident if we consider the labour market. Comparedbetween with other goods, labou r, as a cornmodi ty, has a special~:tracting behaviour, the result of the characteristics peculiar toParties in a it, for a statement of which the reader maybe referredClosed to the enumeration given by Marshall. Now that theMarket. supply is more and more represented by a few powerfulorganisations which treat with an employer or an association ofemployers, it frequently happens that the exchange is restrictedto a very limited number of contracting parties. The system ofcollective agreements at present in force in I taly and the decisionsof the Labour 'Tribunal (Magistrotura del lovoro) in cases ofdispute or in fixing new agreements cause to be considered everyday the case of two single contracting parties confronting oneanother. Hence arises the necessity for considering carefully, evenfrom a theoretical point of view, the problem of barter, which)as it presents itself in existing circumstances, seems to our eyesimportant rather than curious. Let us consider, in a closed

1 Marshall, Principles ofEconomics, 4th edition, Book ,V, Chap. II, § 200.

266 Appendix C

market at a given moment, two individuals: X, a worker, and Y,an employer. X has need of money, Y has need of labour.X requires a certain daily remuneration to supply his necessities. Above this daily remuneration, which forms the point ofdeparture beyond which he cannot go, X formulates variousdemands more favourable to himself.'

These demands are based on suppositions formed by X regarding the need-zhat Y will have of labour and on his desire to gainsomething more than the satisfaction of his minimum needs.Suppose that, within certain limits, X is physically capable ofworking rather more than eight hours a day if he is asked to doso and that he must be able to obtain subsistence if he is asked towork rather less than eight hours a day (without, however, excluding the possibility of doing overtime work under another arrangement). Let the initial position of X be represented, for example,by a wage of 16 liras a day for eight hours' work; starting fromthis rate of wages, it will be indifferent to him whether he worksnine hours for 18 liras or ten hours for 19 liras 50 centimes, or,on the other hand, seven hours for 15 liras, or six hours for 13liras 75 centimes. These rates will be indifferent to X since hewould be disposed to accept any of them. Beyond ten hours'work X will cease to accept further proposals as his strengthwould not enable him to do more work, while below six hoursthe remuneration would become insufficient by itself to pay hissubsistence expenses.

The position of Y in making the bargain is precisely the contrary. In consequence of the conditions of his industry and ofthe labour market, he will be disposed to pay to a worker a certainsalary above which it is no longer an advantage to him to havethe work done. Naturally, the employer wishes to save on thecost of labour and he will tend to offer always less than what heis prepared to pay in the event of not being able to make better

1 Pareto's conception of the curve of indifference is quite distinct from thatof Edgeworth. The latter postulates the conception of utility for each of thetwo contracting parties. in order to trace the curve of indifference. Paretostarts with the tastes of the individuals and with the aid of these alone tracesthe curve of indifference. It is not, in our opinion, indisputably beyondquestion that this author sets aside, as he himself says (Pareto, Manuals, p. 165[note] and P: 258) the conception of "ophelimity" confining himself to considering the tastes of an individual. In reality, by giving us the quantities ofgoods possessed by a~ individual and the conditions on which this individualis willing to give portions of the goods he possesses in order to have othergoods, he supplies to us all the elements necessary for the determination of"ophelimity".


10

190 5°10

33

918

928°5°

terms. Let the extreme position of Y, for example, be representedby a wage of 26 liras for an eight-hour day; starting from thisratio he will be equally satisfied to give 28 liras 50 centimes fornine hours or 32 liras for ten hours, as also 24 liras for sevenhours or 21 liras 50 centimes for six hours.

Though the circumstances of each of the parties may changesomewhat there will be formed in this labour market differentseries of indifferent ratios for X in terms of the commodity offeredby Y (in this case remuneration for labour) and for Y in termsof the commodity offered by X. X may find himself in circumstances different from the case described, that is, the marginalutility of money for him may be greater or less than in that case.In like manner the marginal utility of labour may be differentfor Y. Hence various series of indifferent ratios come to beformed for either party, each constructing in terms of the goodsoffered by the other a scale of exchange values corresponding toan equal number of initial positions in the bargaining of eachparty; as the marginal activities vary, other combinations arepossible.

§ 2. The series of ratios above indicated may beTab!belof expressed thus schematically in the form of a table 1:POSSI ecom binations H fIb 6 7 8between ours 0 oa ou~

two Remuneration (liras) 0 13075 15 16commodities, Hours of labour . 6 7 8

Remuneration (liras). 2105° 24 26

§ 3. Let us represent graphically the phenomenon described.Let there be two axes of co-ordinates, x and y, at right anglesGraphic to one another. Along the axis of x let the workrepresenta- done by X be measured; along the axis of y let thetion by remuneration paid by Y be measured. Let X, formeans offthe example, be in a position to accept a wage of 13 lirascurves ° 0 c · h f k 1° rproportion- 75 centimes lor SIX ours 0 wor , 15 iras lor sevenately hours, etc., as previously stated. Let these indifferentco~stan~ ratios for X be represented by the points a, 01, all,satisfaction. alII, a'", Joining these points by a continuous linewe obtain a curve of constant satisfaction, which has been calledby Edgeworth a curve of indifference.2 The curve of indifferenceor of proportionately constant satisfaction passing through a given

1 The series of ratios are given by way ofexample and the divergence betweenthe series indicated has no relation to practical cases0

I Edgeworth, Mathematical Psychics, P: 21. Kegan Paul, 1881, London.

268 Appendix C

point is the locus of all the ratios or combinations that give toa contracting party the same satisfaction as the ratio representedby that point.

In like manner let us represent the series of indifferent ratiosfor Y, indicating the units of remuneration that he pays in respectof units of labour. Let these ratios be represented by the points

FIG. I.

b, bI, b", b'", h1Vj joining- these points by a continuous line we

obtain the curve of constant satisfaction for Y.Graphically to a curve of indifference that lies close to the axis

of x corresponds a very unfavourable position for X, and to acurve of indifference that lies close to the axis of y correspondsa very unfavourable position for Y. X and Y establish therefore at a given moment ratios determining respectively the positionsbelow which they are not disposed to descend. Participating in

.The Economic Basis of Arbitration 269

a productive process neither X nor Y wishes in any case to recedefrom his own starting point, but rather to improve his position.X, coming in contact with Y in order to fix the conditions oflabour, does not know exactly what are V's possibilities; Y, onthe other hand, has no precise knowledge of the minimum wagethat X is disposed to accept. The possibility of agreement existstherefore in so far as neither party has an exact idea of the limitof resistance of the other.!

§ 4. Is it possible for X and Y to reach a point of equilibrium?In other words, can a stable position based on mutual consent bereached by X and Y, both being animated by individual interest?The mathematical symbols help us to answer this question. Letx and y be the portions of the goods exchanged between X andY respectively. Let

P = F (x,y)

be the total utility of X, and

II = f/J (x,y)

be the total utility of Y.If now we ask at what point X and Y will reach equilibrium,

we shall find that it remains indeterminable inasmuch as thereexists only one condition for two variables.P In fact, let us regard

P - F (x,y) = 0

as a surface, P indicating the length of the ordinate drawn fromany point of the plane xy to the surface.

Let us regard in like manner

II - (/J (x,y) = 0

We have to find a point (x,y) such that in whatever directionan infinitesimally small displacement may be made, P and II doDetermina- not vary in the same way, but while one increases thetion of the other diminishes.Contract- Let us consider first in what directions X can moveCurve. from a point (x,y) through a distance p which may beas small as we please. Since the increment of P is given by:

~p . ~p

dP = pcosO dx + psmO dy

1 Pantaleoni, Erotemi I. Laterza, Bari, 1925. Analisi del concetto di "fortee debole."

t Edgeworth, Ope cit., pp. 20-1,

Appendix C

and p cos 0 = d« and p sin 0 = dy, it is evident that X can moveonly on one side of a certain line of which the equation is

t5P . t5Pp cos 0~x + PSin 0~y = O.

.x,~ FIG. z.

And since p cos () = ~ - x and p sin (J = 'Y) - y this may bewritten

(1) (~ - x)~: + (fJ - y)~; = O.

More precisely, equation (I) is the differential equation characterising a family of curves. Moving on anyone of these curvesX will have no increase and no diminution of his utility. It isclear that this is the characteristic of the curves of constant satisfaction. The direction along which X will prefer to move willlogically be that which will enable him to acquire the greatestutility, that is, the direction perpendicular to the line of constantutility. The like happens in the case of Y. The differentialequation for the curves of constant satisfaction for Y is therefore

(2) (~ - x)~~ + (fJ - yl~~ = O.

If now we ask in what directions X and Y will be disposed tomove together we must reply: In a direction positive for both.They will refuse to move further when their lines of constantsatisfaction coincide. For the two lines to coincide it is necessary

The Economic Basis of ArlJitration 27 I

that equations (I) and (2) should be satisfied by the same values,other than zero, of (~ - x) and ('YJ - y); and this happens whenthe determinant of the system of the two homogeneous equationsin (~ - x) and (1] - y) is zero, that is, when

(3) . . bP bII _ bP bII = O.~x dy dy dx

Equation (3) is the equation of a curve. We see therefore thatinstead of a point (x, y) such that, if a displacement takes place in

oFIG. 3.

any direction through an infinitesimally small distance, P and Ilwill not vary in the same way but while one increases the otherdiminishes, a line has been found, the locus of the points satisfyingthe conditions mentioned. To this line Edgeworth gave the nameof the "Contract-curve." 1

1 Ope cit., p. 17.

Appendix C·

Given the line of indifference for each party, it is always possibleto determine the contract-curve; the part of it comprised betweenF. 1 the points of intersection XoyO) ~o rjo with the two lines

S Itntal m t of indifference contains an infinite number of points,e e en s. · d fi . beach of which represents a e mte agreement etween

the parties. Such agreements we will call "final settlements,"that is, agreements to the variation of which there cannot be themutual consent of both parties. The utility of the agreement iszero for the worker at the point (xo, Yo), since that point stands onthe line of indifference of the worker and therefore gives him noadvantage. In like manner the utility of the agreement is zerofor the employer at the point (~o,Yo).

In practice, when a worker or a union of workers treats withan employer or with an association of employers carrying on acertain industry, a series of ratios is formed which correspondsfairly closely with the lines of indifference above described. Suchratios will not express merely fanciful demands, but will be determined by the lowest standard of living that a class of workers, forexample, is disposed to accept, a number of pleasures being admittedwhich are inherent even in a slender budget, but which wereunknown to higher classes in a period of less advanced industrialdevelopment. Similarly the employer endeavours to obtain acertain remuneration below which he would not consider it worthwhile to enter into the agreement and he proposes therefore to theworkers a series of ratios which, according to the circumstancesknown to him, forms his starting-point. Between these twoextreme and conflicting demands agreement must be found. Boththe parties find the agreement because they consider that it is moreadvantageous to stabilise their reciprocal positions and becausethey respectively tend to an adjustment which improves theirown positions. Each party aims at pushing the other back tohis line of indifference and getting as far .as he can from hisown.

When efforts are made to reach agreements which exploit excessively the possibilities of the worker on the one hand or of theemployer on the other, when the worker is condemned to a starvation wage or the employer is progressively deprived of any profitand is driven to close the undertaking, both the parties are precluded from the possibility of agreement, this case correspondingto a point not situated on the contract-curve.

§ 5. Before proceeding further it will be well to note what arethe positions taken up by Edgeworth and Marshall in seekingthe cause of the uncertainty of the position of equilibrium between


two contracting parties. According to Marshall, the uncertaintyof the definite position of equilibrium in the case of a marketNotes on a with only two contracting parties is due to thecontroversy necessity we find for considering the final degrees ofbetween utility of both commodities as being subject toEdgeworth variation. Thus, according to Marshall, if the finaland Berry. degree of utility of one of the commodities wereconstant, there would be determinateness of the equilibrium. Ifby determinateness of the equilibrium is understood determinateness of every element represented by the well-known diagram, thisassertion would be partly erroneous, as Edgeworth shows,1 sincethe indeterminateness of the point of equilibrium remains, evenwhen the marginal utility of one of the two commodities, forexample, money, is constant. Hence it is the absence of competitionwhich gives rise to the indeterminateness of the point of equilibrium, rather than the variability of the final utility of both goods,considered during the operation of exchange. If we regard asconstant the marginal utility of one of the commodities (forexample, money, the commodity y of the case above described) wefind that the contract-curve becomes a straight line parallel to theaxis ofy; or, the marginal utility of y being constant, we can substitute for P (total utility of the party X) the expression U leX) + ocy,and for II the expression U 2(x) + py. Hence the contract-curvebecomes

~Ul(X~p = ~U.(x)Ot~x fJx

or F(x) = 0, from which we have x = constant.If, however, it is meant, not that the point of equilibrium is

determinate but the ratio of exchange 2, the opinion of Marshall

is correct. The ratio of exchange Zis not identical with the

point of equilibrium which has co-ordinates determined by theequations

<5 <5~(P + II) = 0, JY(P + II) = O.

These co-ordinates, on the other hand, must satisfy the relationdydx = constant.

§ 6. The case of a closed market with only two competitors

1 Giomale degli Econ0misti, 189I, P: 237. I Ibid" Berry, p. 552 •

Appendix C

has been approached in practice in recent times through the action

Do of the Combinations. But this is, nevertheless,

etermma- 0 0

lion of the always a theoretical case0 Practice shows marketsPoint of complicated by a greater number of contracting parties;Equilibrium whoever is interested in the settlement of disputespar lie between workers and employers aspires to the possi-exce nee. bili f fi di 0 f 0 II Ity 0 n Ing points 0 agreement comparative yprecise and .aPt oscillating too far between wide limits.

Edgeworth, in the brilliant study already quoted, introduces newcontracting parties into a field of competition limited to two only.The new contracting parties, who enter subsequently into themarket, can bargain with all the others, so that to every new settlement corresponds a point which is a point of equilibrium, inasmuchas it lies on the contract-curve, since if it were not on that curve,it would be to the interest of all parties to reach the curve.

On the other hand, that there must be one point only of equili-:brium is no longer in the nature itself of v the agreement, whichendeavours to secure an understanding between the contractingparties as compared with the instability in which those who do notagree are placed.

To arrive at the definition of the point of equilibrium par excellence, Edgeworth supposes the number of contracting parties toincrease indefinitely. If they are divided into two large classes,each distinguished by elements of a like nature, Edgeworth findsthat the point of equilibrium par excellence is determined by theintersection with the contract-curve of the two curves representedby the equations

ECJf/J + {)f/J = a~x 1] dy

E~F + ~F = 0()x 1]CJY

These two equations correspond in a general way to the transactions of two individuals in a market. They represent, moreover, the necessary condition for equilibrium, inasmuch as equilibrium par excellence is characterised by maximum advantage forboth parties, and this maximum condition is expressed mathematically by equating to zero the differentials of the functions F(E, 1])

and <P(~, 'Y), which represent respectively the total utilities of eachparty. The conditions indicated correspond to the two equationsof exchange of jevons.! The curves represented by them may

1 Jevons, _Theory, p. 108.

Conditionsrequired inorder toascertain thePoint ofEquilibriumparexcellence.


be called curves of demand, as each expresses the quantity of goodsexchanged at a certain ratio of exchange which will afford themaximum advantage to one of the parties.

When the infinitely numerous contracting parties are notdivided into two opposing classes, but act according to their owntastes independently of each other, then there will be formed aninfinite number of contract-curves, which may be conceived asbeing grouped round a mean. The curves of indifference, moreover, will be concentric since they correspond to an approximatesimilarity of tastes. To determine the point of equilibrium parexcellence we shall have, if there are m contracting parties on theone hand and n contracting parties on the other, am + znequations for the am + an unknown quantities, so that theequilibrium will be perfectly determinate. That is, in this caseabsolutely free competition supplies as many equations as thereare unknown quantities necessary for determining the equilibriumpar excellence.

§ 7. The conditions required by Edgeworth in order to ascertain the point of equilibrium par excellence are the following:-

I. To further increments of work corresponds anincrease of sacrifice objectively measured. (Law ofincreasing effort.)

15P < 0, 15P > o.~x ~y

II. The marginal utility of a thing for a persondiminishes with every increment of the quantity of the

thing that the person already has. (Law of diminishing utility.)

«52p f52p- <0· -<0 1~x2 'f5y2 •

III. On the same free market at a given moment there cannotbe two prices for the same article. This condition must be understood as referring to the case of prices subject to continuousvariation, that is, regarding the ratio of exchange as the ratio ofinfinitesimal quantities of products dy and dx, In general fromthe static point of view, we may consider ratios of finite quantitiesy and x and state with Jevons the law: "In an act of exchange thelast increments must be exchanged in the same ratio as the total

quantities exchanged, that is l = ddy."

x x

1 Edgeworth, Papers II, P: 2.96. Macmillan, 1925.

~76 Appendix C

IY. The advantage of all the competitors in the field must bemaximum.

Each of these conditions, taken in itself, forms a theoreticaltruth, but it presupposes a preliminary abstract conception in thehypothesis of a free market and in the hypothesis of fluidity in thatmarket. In order that there may be the maximum advantage forall the contracting parties it is necessary that each of them shouldmove alongvhis curve identified by Edgeworth as the curve ofdemand, that is, that there should be determination and completepossibility of determination of the quantities of goods demanded inrelation to the quantity of goods offered. I t is out of the questionthat this complete possibility of determination should occur, particularly in the case of the commodity labour, even though we mayseek, through the medium ofofficial employment bureaux, to obtaindata which, indeed, are collected more with a view to social objectsthan to elaboration in reference solely to the price of labour.

All forms of association amongst producers, created for the purpose of controlling or in any way regulating the selling price of acommodity, hinder the fluidity of the market; that is, they contravene condition Ill, inasmuch as they keep fixed at a certainmoment or in a certain region the price of some articles, therebypreventing the continuous variation which was postulated as afundamental condition. The same may be said for co-operativesocieties when they attain the object of enabling the members torealise a saving on the purchase price of any product; and so on, aswe shall say presently with reference to Combinations.

§ 8. From what has been saidso far, it results that by indefinitelyincreasing the number of contracting parties and the possibility ofThe fewer coming to understandings with one another by meansthe of mutual agreements, we render possible or rathernumbe~ of approach the determination of a point of equilibrium,chompeutors called equilibrium par excellence inasmuch as it gives thet e more . d II h · Cthe field of maximum a vantage to ate competitors. on-Indetermin- versely when there are only two contracting parties in~teness the field the possibilities of agreement remain indeter-Increases. minate and theoretically infinite in number, corre-sponding to an infinite number of points placed on a finite portionof the contract-curve. This portion is comprised between thetwo points of intersection between that curve and the two curvesof indifference. When one passes from two contracting parties toa larger number, each new competitor who enters the market offersa series of ratios more favourable to the person with whomhe wishes to bargain. The latter, as a result of the .more

The Economic Basis of Arbitration '277

advantageous offer, will tend to displace his curve of indifferenceto his own advantage, and to restrict the portion of the contractcurve on which are represented the final settlements.

Let us suppose that there is an equal number of contractingparties, X and Y respectively, with like tastes and that each X cantreat only with n'Y and each Y with nX; we shall have that increasing n' will diminish the region of indeterminateness towards thecurve of indifference of X, that is, that part of the final settlementsmost favourable to Y is taken away. In practice this meansincreasing competition amongst employers in search of workers.Increasing n will diminish the region of indeterminateness towardsthe curve of indifference of Y, that is, that part of the final settlements most favourable to X is taken away. In practice thismeans increasing competition between workers in search of anemployer who will engage them. In conclusion we may affirmthat the smaller the number of competitors, the greater is theindeterminateness on the contract-curve.

IV

§ I. Some of the X and some of the Y may agree in regulatingthe demand or the supply (or both) of the respective goods. In

this case we have as many Combinations as there<;ombina- are groups of X and Y. In respect of free comnons among petition 'every Combination formed between n indi-Producers id I d h ° fi If °diminish the VI ua s re uces t e competitors rom n to I. In anumber of closed market of N competitors combinations arecompetitors formed each of n individuals, the field is the same as ifin a Market. N

it consisted of - individuals. Increasing n, that is,n

the number of persons who enter into a combination, increases theindeterminateness of the agreement. The final settlements whichthe Combinations bring about represent advantages for the associatesin comparison with the conditions existing prior to the interventionof the Combinations themselves. In the presumed guarantee of

, larger earnings lies the reason which decides a worker to enterinto a Combination. The workers, as also any persons whobelong to a Combination, tend to gain in comparison with freeindividuals. These last are attracted by the advantages of theCombinations, particularly by the guarantees which they offer inperiods of industrial depression. When the individuals in the fieldpractically all belong to the Combinations, the case corresponds

Appendix C

exactly to a market in which a limited number of individualsoperate, some of whom may be considered as having a monopoly.Hitherto the most usual case has been that in which isolatedindividuals and Combinations exist side by side.

§ 2. It is in this phase that the Trade-Unions have flourished.The conditions of equilibrium maintained by the Liberal State areTrade- everywhere shaken and individualism in the economicUnions and _ld seems now a position difficult to define. TheSyndicates. Trade-Unions, like the greater number of the formsof syndicates, have aimed at artificially limiting labour in the tradescontrolled by them, with the object of regulating wages. Theseforms of Combination were successful and popular as independentbodies precisely during the Liberal period. But they have prospered only where suitable conditions existed. These conditionshave also been discussed by Marshall and the following paragraphsmay be regarded as a sUlnmary of his conclusions, slightly adaptedto the exigencies of the present study 1:_

I. Singleness of method in the production of the commodityobtained by means of the trade controlled by the Union. Thisfirst condition is derived from the following: (0) that the Unionshould have the control of the labour supply in that trade and inthe district; (h) that the commodity cannot easily be imported fromanother district in which the conditions of labour are not under thecontrol of the Union; (c) that only one method is adopted for theproduction of the commodity and that it is not possible to introduceanother method with better conditions which enables labour to beforegone.

II. Considerable increase in the price of the commodity inquestion if the supply is diminished.

III. Wages must be so small a part of the total cost of production of the commodity that a relatively large increase in wagesdoes not result in an appreciable increase in the price of the commodity and consequently in a diminution of the demand.

IV. The other classes of workers engaged in other phases ofthe manufacture QT preparation of the commodity (and the samemay be said for the employers) must be willing to submit to areduction in their remuneration and must not, at any rate, be in aposition to obtain in their own favour an increased share of thetotal price of the product by means of the arti ficiallimitation of the'supply of their labour (or capital).

It is now difficult fully to realise these conditions. Though

1 Marshall, Elements of Economics, P: 366. Macmillan, I9Z9.

The Economic Basis of Arhitration 279

protective legislation may limit foreign competition, internalmigrations and technical improvements affect the efficacy of thefirst condition. All classesof workers tend to organise themselvesand to every increase in the price of a commodity corresponds(when it does not precede) a movement on the part of the labourersin the allied trades to secure an increased share in the total price ofthe product as remuneration for their own work. The sameoccurs for the capitalists and employers in the case above described.

These considerations disturb the efficacy of Condition IV.Conditions II and III now rarely exist because the principles onwhich the formation of workers' Combinations is based are nowdifferent.

The conditions above mentioned corresponded to the circumstances existing in an epoch near to our own, but differing from it;the spirit of collectivisation has now permeated every class of producer to such an extent, that it is not only strictly economic conditions or economic conditions of the type described that determinethe formation of Trade-Unions and of syndicates. Be it noted,too, that the Unions, at the time of their greatest development,aimed at securing for the workers, in addition to high wages,supplementary advantages which were called by Marshall "netadvantages." 1 These advantages, which were often subjective,correspond to-day to necessities more generally felt and relate tothe conditions of cleanliness, health and dignity in which work iscarried out. In the present Corporative System in Italy, andgenerally in every other modern system of production, theseadvantages tend to become general in every trade; hence it maybe presumed in future that, the protection of the workers beingequal, it will again be only high wages which will form theinducement to adopt one trade rather than another. But thelower the conditions of a people the greater will be the flow ofworkers towards the humbler trades. If, again, it is held thatthe Unions ought to have as an object the protection of theirmembers even in times of general industrial depression, it wouldbe ··necessary that they should be provided with considerablemeans, larger than those which they have hitherto been able toshow that they actually possessed in cases of necessity. This isparticularly true in the case of Unions of unskilled workers. Thenumber of these cannot be greatly reduced in any trade and isabsolutely irreducible in all trades taken together. The attitudeof the Unions of unskilled labourers in the face of widespread

1 Marshall, Ope cit., P: 266.

280 Appendix C

unemployment is necessarily passive, The limitation of the hoursof labour is the only remedy to meet the situation.

§ 3. In the field of competition may be noted tendencies andpeculiarities which render absolutely free competition impossible.ImperfectionsThes~ tendenc}esand pe~uliarities h~ve been improperlyinherent in described as imperfections.' It IS true that these<;ombina- imperfections hinder the attainment of perfect equilinons, _urn. But to call them imperfections would he tosuppose that they were something exceptional while the tendenciesand peculiarities in question are the rule, at least so far as we cansee, in the present situation of the markets.

(0) A general tendency in the market of a commodity is thattowards monopoly. To combine the manufacture of a certainproduct, the distribution and in some way the demand and thesupply in a few hands is a frequent phase in every productivecycle. Unions and syndicates endeavour, to control the supplyand demand of labour and aim at extending to the utmost theirradius of influence. .

(b) The co-operative movement combines many individuals inproductive and distributive organisations; provided that all themembers of these organisations treat through them and not individually with the employer, the field of competition will be determinate to the same extent as if the contracting parties were thesame number of single individuals as there are co-operative associations in the field. Hence it follows that the more generallythe co-operative system is adopted (that is, the more the numberof co-operative societies increases) the less, other conditions remaining unchanged, the indeterminateness becomes.

(c) A peculiarity, which constantly reduces the perfect fluiditynecessary for free competition, is that which is inherent in everykind of personal service. In fact every worker can sell one unitof work only and cannot store his energy in case ot inactivity;while the employer of labour, considered as a single individual,has before him a number of workers amongst whom he can choosethe units that suit him best; moreover he can arrange the rhythmof production with a certain independence in regard to time,providing himself with the quantities of goods that he requires oron the other hand slowing down the process of manufacture.

All the considerations so far set out lead to the conclusion thatfree competition in general and particularly in the field of labouris a theoretical abstraction. It seems that a system of absolute

1 Edgeworth, M.,athematical Psychics, p. 45.

The Economic Basis of Arhitration 28 I

fluidity in a market ought to determine the point of equilibriumwhich allows the maximum advantage to each contracting party.In practice, at every step we find that economic equilibrium isbased on limitations of every kind. Here and there we comeacross tendencies and uniformities, schemes of relations and determinations of ratios of exchange. It is practically impossible inpresent circumstances to determine by means of these factors thepoint where the contract-curve intersects the curves of demandand supply of opposing classes of contracting parties.

§ 4. As faith in competition declines the necessity increases ofdetermining by means of expert arbitrators the final settlementNeed for a in which contracting parties whose interests are opposedprinciple of will find themselves in agreement; that is the mostArbitration. opportune point on the contract-curve. In the presentsystem of collective trade agreements under the I talian CorporativeRegime the case of the rate fixed by the arbitrator is only a corollaryof the foregoing statement. In fact the arbitrator determinesthe rates which will eventually be established in a sufficientlylong period between supply and demand and gives due weight tothe fluctuations of the market.

In determining what will be, on the contract-curve, the pointlying between the curves of indifference, the arbitrator acts in amanner fully justified in relation to economic laws. 'The moreimpartial the arbitrator, the more he will aim at a utilitarianadjustment of the articles in question, the object of the agreementbeing the maximum utility for the contracting parties. Theutilitarian settlement is not unaccompanied by moral qualitiesthat render it more acceptable when selected by an impartialjudge; this settlement satisfies the sentiment of sympathy andof economic collaboration which is characteristic of the presentrhythm of production and corresponds to a sense of utilitarianjustice, which is probably the type of justice of which the menof to-day are most conscious.

It may be noted at this point that to every Combination corresponds a desire on the part of the associates to realise a maximumof advantage independently of the increase or decrease of theutility of other classesor even of the national dividend. Whoeveraims at being a good unionist or member of any syndicate, bythe very fact of belonging to this type of Combination, is lookingfor the greatest possible advantage, this being the main reason ofhis association. The arguments of the Liberal economists regarding the diminution of the national income which the membersof a syndicate may bring about are devoid of any foundation, when

282 Appendix C

the members gain by means of their association more than whatthey lose as citizens in consequence of that diminution. It mayfurther be noted in this connection that the greater accuracy ofeconomic forecasts and their wider diffusion have developed inevery member of modern political communities a more consciousfeeling of interest in the future. In the past, contrary to whatseems to happen to-day, the workers and the employers in theirdemands rarely considered the future development of their industries.

In view of the distributive system in force it seems foolish topush one's demands to the extreme limit of the possibilities of theother contracting party in such a way as to compel him to rejectthe agreement. You may milk a cow, but it is foolish to killher. But on the other hand the greater accuracy of the economicforecasts, the greater consciousness of the social necessities inevery citizen and the more general discussion of economic andfinancial problems impel modern States to the elaboration of principles and plans, whereby the development of industry, trade andevery other productive activity becomes incorporated in more orless compulsory schemes. In the face of assertions put forwardregarding "the higher interests of production," 1 the producer,to whatever productive class he may belong, ends by includingin his own decisions considerations which have a double foundation, namely inspiration by a collectively utilitarian morality andacceptance of the necessity of political quietism felt in the presentperiod. Attention is every day more diverted from the pureprinciples of politics and of morality; men are more interested inconcrete applications, rarely, and never in an impartial spirit,turning their eyes towards absolute ideals.

v§ I. The system of graphic representation previously indicated

(Fig. I) lends itself also to some considerations of the case inCase of which one of the two contracting parties is the State.nationalised It frequently happens that the State becomes anIndustry. employer of labour and that it may, in some way,bargain with third parties in the manner of a commercial orindustrial body in a mixed Regime. Here, on the other hand,we wish to direct attention to the field of collectivist experiments,in which the State itself assumes every phase of the productive

1 Carta dei· Laooro, Declaration IV.

The Economic Basis of Arhitration 283

process, claiming also the property therein, and considers individuals as its wage-earning employees (nationalised industry). Weshall find that the demands of individuals start from considerationsrelating to their present standard of living or are based on thatstandard of living which it is logical for them to hope to be ableto attain in a not very distant future. There is no way of estimating, even approximately, the circumstances of the other contracting party, since the circumstances of the State depend on aconsiderable number of factors, some of which are quite unknownto the persons engaged in any branch of production. The State,on the other hand, will draw up general schemes of productionby means of its experts and will fix a certain determined dividendfor the workers independently of particular estimates of theposition of a special industry.

Every class of worker will have a share in the total sum setaside for wages without having the possibility of any considerablevariation either above or below that figure, but only a proba bilityof reductions in case of economic crisis. What will be the positionof a worker or of a class of workers in relation to the State? Theworker will be kept constantly at the margin, that is, his curveof indifference will be pushed as far as possible towards the axisof x and his agreement will necessarily be near to that curve.

§ 2. Every increase of wages demanded by a class of workerswill meet opposition from the interests of all the other productiveNo Ground classes, since each of them is faced, not by an employerlies for a whose interests are largely conflicting, but by thePrin.cipl: of community, the guardian of the national dividend.Arbitration. Moreover, there can be no principle of arbitration;in fact the arbitrator will be the other contracting party, that is,the State. In the present mixed systems, in spite of the inevitableinterference of politics in economic affairs, the principle ofarbitration IS nevertheless always a considerable safeguard of theinterest of the parties. In a collectivist system it may be hypothetically admitted that account should be taken of the weightof each class in the determination of the equilibrium, but it isinevitable that the unit of remuneration of a typical wage-earnerwill be proportionate to the wages of the last competitor in searchof work. In fact it is a postulate of the collectivist social systemthat the maximum benefit ("ophelimity") must be given to everyindividual composing the community.' It is to the interest ofevery class of salaried workers to avoid any displacement, however

1 Pareto, Manuale, p. 343. Soc. Ed. Libr., Milan, 1919.

Appendix C

slight, since any such displacement necessarily causes Injury toone part of the persons composing the community and gives anadvantage to others. The hope of a better to-morrow, better incomparison with to-day and in comparison with the to-morrowof one like to himself is a fundamental factor in life which urgesman to live on and to struggle.

A collectivist system of production and distribution seems totake away rlItny possibilities of rapid improvement in the standardof life of individuals. In order that individuals may interest themselves in the transformation of public polity it is necessary thatnew Regimes should-attract them by means of higher spiritualideals.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

I. Ministero delle Corporazioni-Atti del primo Conuegno diStudi sindacali e corporativi-Roma, 2-3 Maggio I930.Roma, 1930. Edizioni del Diritto del Lavoro. Twovolumes.

2. Ministero delle Corporazioni-Atti del second» Conuegna diStudi sindacali e corporativi-Ferrara, Maggio I932.Roma, 1932. 'Tipografia del Senato. Three volumes.

3. Giuseppe Bottai. L'economla [ascista. Roma, A. VIII.Tipografia Arte della Stampa.

4. Giuseppe Bottai. II Consiglio Nazlonale delle Corporazioni.Milano, 1932. A. Mondadori.

5. Gino Arias. L'economia nazionale corporatiua. Roma, 1929.Libreria del Littorio,

6. Arrigo Serpieri. Prablemi della Terra nell'Economia Corporatiua. Roma, 1929. Edizioni del Diritto del Lavoro.

7. Ministero delle Corporazioni. I salari nelle Industrle negl;anni I92 9 e I930. Roma, 193 I . Istituto Poligrafico delloStato.

8. J. R. Commons and Associates. History of Lahour in theUnited States. New York, 1926. The MacmillanCompany. Two volumes.

9. Robert Franklin Hoxie. Trade Unionism in the United States.New York, 1928. D. Appleton & Company.

10. W. H. Hutt. The Theory of Collective Bargaining. London,1930. P. S. King & Son, Ltd.

I I. Istituto Centrale di Statistica del Regno d'Italia. AnnuarioStatistico Italiano. Roma, 1932. Istituto Poligrafico delloStato.

The present bibliography does not profess to do more than toindicate some of the principal authorities which have been consultedby the writer. The books to which reference is made in thenotes are those from which specific information on particularsubjects has been derived. A complete bibliography would make

285

286 Bibliographical Note

it necessary to quote the various official bulletins of information(including regulations, laws, etc.) issued by the Ministry of Corporations and by the different Occupational Associations, but ithas not been considered desirable to overload the book by includingexcessively detailed and not absolutely essential references.

INDEX

Accountants, Fascist Syndicate of,221

Agricultural Associations, Pre-war,IS9

- Comitia, 158- Experts, Italian Federation of,

162- - Fascist Syndicate of, 221

- Federation of Bologna, 160

Industrial and Commercial Association of Rome, 170

Labour, National Corporationof, 16

Labourers, Italian Federationof, 159, 162

- - National Federation ofFascist Syndicates ofSpecialised, 169

Socialistic and CatholicMovements among, 159,164, 166, 167

Statistics of strikes among,166

Agriculture, Corporation of, 162

Air Navigation, Associationof Employees and Workers in, 192

- - Enterprises subsidiary to, I 84- Transport, National Fascist

Federation o~ 184, 186Ansaldo Automobile Company, 231

Anti-Trust Laws in the UnitedStates, 263

Arbitration in Great Britain, 63, 64- in Russia, 66, 67- in the United States, 64, 65

Economic basis in regard toLabour, 260-8+

Architects, Fascist Syndicate of,220, 221

Arias, G., S3, 28 5Art, National Fascist Federation

of Ancient and Modern, andHandicrafts, 173

Artisan Communities of Italy, Independent Fascist Federationof, 146

- - - - National Federationof, 148

Artists, see Professional Men andArtists

Arts, National Fascist Syndicateof the Fine, 221

Authors and Writers, National Fascist Syndicate of, 220, 221

Balilla, seeYoung People's NationalInstitute

Bank Directors, National FascistAssociation of, 208

- Employees, Federation of, 180

- - National Confederation ofFascist Syndicates of, 210-16

- - National Federation of,181, 212

- Officials, National Fascist Syndicate 04 208, 21 5

Bankers, Private, 205, 209

Banking, General Fascist Confederation, 206-9, 213

Italian Association,203-4, 206,2°9

Settlement, 2 I 3- Technical Italian Association,

208-<)

288 Index

Barone, E., 262

Bastiat, 260

Bianchini, G., 209

Bottai, Giuseppe, 285Brugora, Paolo, 181Building Contractors, National As

sociation of 14IBuilding Trade Workers, National

Federajien of Fascist Syndicates of, 156

Candiani, Deputy, 171Carnaro, Charter of Italian Re

gency of, 13, 15Carters, Co-operative League of,

197Categories, Definition of term, ix- Organisation of productive,

16Catholic Syndical Movement, 8

10, 3I, 15°-3Central Institute of Statistics, 147,

28 5Chamber of Deputies, 127-8

Chambers of Commerce, 115-16- of Labour, 6, 149-50 , 167Chemical and Glass Industries,

National Federation of FascistSyndicates of Workers in, 156

Chemical Products, Drugs andl\Iedicinal Specialities, National Fascist Federation ofWholesale Trade in, 174

Chemists, National Fascist Federation of, 221

Christian-Democratic Movement,166

Clothing Industry, National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofthe, 155

Coal Trade, National Fascist Federation of the, 174

Coda, Commander, 184Collective Labour Contracts, 23,

40-59, 247, 248, 256Colleges of Professional Men, 216,

Z22

Commerce, Fascist Confederationof 169-175

- National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates of, 175-82

- National Corporation of, 16Commercial Agents and Repre

sentatives, National FascistFederation of, 173

Federation, Italian, 170

Firms and Professional Offices,National Federation of FascistSyndicates of, 182

- Travellers and Representatives,Union of, 177, 180-1

Commons and Andrews, 64Commons, J. R., and Associates,

285Communism, ix, 1 59Compensation for Dismissal, 74Complementary Transport, Na-

tional Federation of FascistSyndicates of Persons engagedin, 202

Conciliation Courts in the UnitedStates, 64

Congress of Bologna, 15, 18o, 190

- of Florence, 170- of Milan, 172

- of Naples, 170

- of Rome, 170Consortium of Employees in the

Engineering and Metal-working Industry of Milan, 142

of the Operatic Stage, 1 12

- Industrial, of Liguria, 142

Corridoni, Filippo, 12

Court of Cassation, 89Credit Institutions-

Fascist Associationsof, 205, 207,

2°9Federation of Associations of

Employees of the large,212

Undertakings, National Federation of Fascist Syndicates ofEmployees in, 2 I 5

, Crispi, Francesco, Ige

Index

D'Amelio.BrDannunzian Syndical Action, Na

tional Committee of, I 3D'Annunzio, Gabriele, 13, 190,

191

De Martino, 8 1

Dewey, John, 19Di Giacomo, Giacomo, 220

Dock Labourers, National Federation of Fascist Syndicates of,202

Doctors, 220

- see also PhysiciansDopoleooro, see Workers' Leisure

Time National Institute.Druggists-

Provident Fund for, 234

Fascist Syndicate of, 221

Economic Councils, Provincial,115-16

Economics and Commerce, Syndicate of Doctors in, 221

Edgeworth, xiv, 266 tt St?Education, provisions in Labour

Charter relating to, 249-50

Elections Bureau, 132

Electrical Communications, National Fascist Federation of,195

Employees, Private, and Sales-men, National Federation of,180

Private Movement after War,176, 180-1, 220

Employers, Fascist Confederationsof, 155

- Table showing legally recognised syndical associations of,25 1,253

Employment, Association ofPublic,197, 220

- Bureaus, provisions in LabourCharter for, 225, 248-<)

- National Corporation of Publicand Private, 220

Encyclicals, 9

Engine-Drivers and Firemen, Association of, employed by theSociete Alta Italia, 198

Engineers, Syndicate of, 220, 221

Equitable Labour Conditions, Lawson, 194, 199, 200

Ercole, Francesco, 134Extractive Industries, 147

Fabbri, Sileno, 2 I 8Factories, Associationsof Employees

and Technicians in, 173- Occupation of by workers,

ISFarm and Forest Employees, Na-

tional Syndicate of, 168Farmers, General Confederation of,

160-1Italian Society, I 58Italian Federation of Syndi

cates of, 162National Fascist Confederation

of, 33, 83, 158-63- Tenant, 169Farming and Foodstuffs Industries,

147Fasci di COfllDattimtnto, 14, 15,

161Fascia di Azione, 217

Fascist Grand Council, 12 7, 133,135

National Party: its attitudetowards Syndicalism, I 5, 16

Syndicates, National Confederation of, I 54, 155

Fiat Automobile Company, 231

Finance Corporations, 205, 207,

209Fishing Industries, National Feder-

ation of Fascist Syndicates of,IS6

Fiume, 13, 15, 190Foodstuffs Industry, National Fed

eration of Fascist Syndicatesof, 156

Forwarding Agencies for lettersand parcels, 196

Index

Resistance, Leagues of, 6Rice-weeders, Legal Importance

of Wages Dispute of, 83Rioista Bancarie, 205

Rocco, Alfredo, 61Rossoni, E., 219

School Corporations, 220

Sea and Ai~l""Transport, NationalFascist Federation of, 182-6

Sea Workers, Italian Federation of,183

Seamen, Corporation ot, 16, 19 I

- Federation of Italian, 188,190, J9 I

- National Confederation of Fas-cist Syndicates of, 186-<) 3

Seamen's Fascist Association, 191Serpieri, Arrigo, 225

Shepherds, National Federation ofFascist Syndicates of, 169, 170

Shipowners, Federation of Italian,144, 182, 189

- Various Associations of, 182-5

Shipping Edict (Tuscan), 186Sickness Funds for Agricultural

Labourers, 227

for Commercial employees,228

Regional, 229

Silk, Italian, Association 0 f, 141Small Industries, National Federa

tion of, 148Socialism compared with Fascist

Syndicalism, I 8- among Workers, 149, 150-4,

159, 164-6Solvay Company, 231Sorel, Syndicalism of,' I I, I 2

Stage, Consortium of the Operatic,112

- Corporation ofthe, 100, 1 I I, I 14- National Fascist Federation of

the, 173National Federation of Fascist

Syndicates of Workers' Industry of the, 157

Steelworks Company ofTerni, 142,235

Stockbrokers, National Fascist Fed-eration of, 173

Stockbroking and CommissionHouses, Employees in, 2 I 3

Stock Exchange, National SyndicalAssociation ofFirms and Commission Houses operating onthe, 208~

Street Marketing, National Federation of Syndicates of, I 82

Surveyors, Fascist Syndicate of, 221Syndical Contributions, Tables

showing, 254-5- Corporations, National Con

federation of 167Syndicalism, Catholic, 8-10, 15°

151Characteristics of Fascist, 16-

19Definition of, I I

Tax-Collecting Offices, NationalFederation of Syndicates ofEmployees in, 215

Tax-Collectors, National FascistAssociation of, 208~

Teachers, Fascist Syndicate of, 220,221

Technical Committee, National, 174Technicians, National Fascist Syn

dicate of, 220

Telephone and Radio Operators,Federation ofSyndicates of, 2 20

Textile Industries, National Federation of Fascist Syndicates of,157

- Trade, National Fascist Federa..tion of, 174-

Trade Unions, Comparison between English and FrenchAssociationsv g

Training and Education providedfor in Labour Charter, 250

Transport, Sea and Air, NationalFascist Confederation of, 182

Index

Transport Workers, National Institute for Assistance of, 229

Tuberculosis, Compulsory Insurance against, 225

Valuers, Fascist Syndicates of, 221

Veterinary Surgeons, Fascist Syn-dicate of, 220, 221

J7iaggiatort, II, 177Viana, 7Yigile, La, 230

Wages, Statistical Table of, 258259

War, Attitude of Workers towards,13

- Syndical position of Seamenduring, 189

Warehousing and Sales, Federationof Syndicates for, I 8 I

Water, Gas and Electric PowerIndustry, Federation of Syndicates of, 156

Wheat Campaign, 168Wine and Liqueur Industry, Na

tional Fascist Federation of,147

and Oil Trade, National Fas-cist Federation of, 173

Workers, Table of Syndical Associations of, 25I, 253

Workers' Aid Society, National,38, 101, 119,224

Leisure Time National Institute, xiii, 26, 38, 101, 119,

224, 234-7Party,6

Young People's National Institute,23, 38, 101, 119, 224

Printed in Great' Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd OJ Frome ind London

BOOKS TO READ

BRITISH PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, 1921-31.By JOSEPH SYKES, M.A., Head of the Department of Economics, University College, Exeter.

Demy 8vo. 400 pp. 158.The many changes which have occurred in the British system of taxation in

the post-war period have received a fair measure of attention from domesticeconomists. tlfl:lntil recently, however, not so much attention has been given tochanges in expenditure. Questions of expenditure have come to assume largeimportance, and this volume records the more important changes that occurredduring the decade 192I-31 (March) and to trace their more obvious economicand social consequences.

UNEMPLOYMENT IN GERMANY SINCE THE WAR.By K. I. WIGGS, Ph.D., with an Introduction by ProfessorHENRY CLAY.

Demy 8vo. 228 pp. lOs. 6d.This book deals with the causes of unemployment in Germany, distinguishing

between those which were operative before the War and those peculiar to thepost-war years. As far as possible, a distinction is also made between specificallyGerman and general world causes. At a time of political disturbance, when theaverage person is overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem, this dispassionateanalysis should prove particularly valuable.

STATE SOCIALISM IN VICTORIA.By Hon. F. W. EGGLESTON, formerly Attorney-General,State of Victoria.

Demy 8vo. 375 pp. 158.The British Australian: "His book should have remarkable value in Australia,

where readers can learn from it how in future to avoid mistakes which intelligentowners of these great State enterprises must wish to avoid. Nor should it beless useful here in showing students of social and political problems, not onlywhat Victoria has lost or suffered through her State Socialism, but also whatshe has escaped or gained."

A HISTORY OF FRENCH COLONIAL POLICY(1870-1925) .

By STEPHEN H. ROBERTS, M.A., Professor of History,University of Sydney.

2 Vols. Royal 8vo. 760 pp., and 25 Maps. 428.This book contains an historical account of the development of the French

colonies and a thoughtful analysis of the successive policies that France hasadopted in regard to them. It deals not merely with political relationship andthe machinery of administration, but with economic policy and native policyas well, and, of equal importance, with the right co-ordination of all these. A-'~ry full bibliography and many' maps are also included.

P. S. KING & SON, LTD.,Great Smith Street, Westmin8ter

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DATE OF ISSUE

Tlois book must be returned

within :l, 7. 14 days of itA iHRll_. A

fi~.- r: f ON~i ANN A per (ffly will

be rhl\r'ged if the beuk iii overdue...._-~ _..........-_---

Pitigliani, Fausto, ''The Italian Corporative State'', 1933.

Documents

Transcript of Pitigliani, Fausto, ''The Italian Corporative State'', 1933.