Molina Romo 2005

Molina Romo, Óscar. (2005) "Political Exchange and Bargaining Reform in Italy and Spain." European Journal of Industrial Relations 11(1): 7–26.

• In the conclusion
• labor reforms in Italy and Spain were crafted by policy concertation between employers, unions, and the government took an active role (sometimes even by forcing reforms) (20)
• but the intervention of the government gave the trade unions political leverage, and allowed for political exchange, to improve the outcomes of reforms (20-21)
• this is a little different, as the government taking an active role in this reform resulted in the government opening itself to feeling the wrath of unions
• earlier reforms in the 1980s had left unions with weakened industrial power but continued political power, this they were able to leverage into protecting their bargaining structures in the 1990s (22)
• THE POINT, here, is that
• the government didn't take a very active role, but did so in careful negotiations with unions and employers, and
• in this case, when faced by a political challenge from unions, the government gave in to demands (22)