Digital economy and the test of collective interest

Abstract

The ability of the web to be a mean of self-representation of each individual increases the problems of the traditional unions that, for a long time now, have been looking for strategies to face workers’ needs in emerging sectors.

The coalitions of digital workers have been developed outside the trade unionism. These aggregations try to gain visibility especially in the public arena through dialogue with local institutions and city government.

In the theoretical perspective, the occurrence of synthesis and standardization’s elements is essential to identify a collective interest. The relevant differences among workers on the socio-economical level, on the contrary, affect the possibility to place the aggregations of digital workers inside the traditional unionism.

However, the difficulty in tracing collective interests outside the area of dependent work is no more justified in the theoretical perspective as much as in the logic of union representation. The analysts of social networks and industrial relations have emphasized the usefulness of a revival of representation of historical unions through an alliance including collective players of the digital economy, civil society and public opinion.

The coalition experiences in progress at the metropolitan level can be favourably assessed, as they are aimed at set up a new sphere of socio-political influence for unions, by opening new spaces for collective bargaining. Social coalitions can assist the transfer and mutual exchange of information and organizational resources, with positive results in both directions.