Abstract

The essay deals with the delicate issue of the agency fees due by non-unionized employees (so called "quote di servizio") in the occasion of the renewal of the collective agreement applied by the relevant employer. The Authors wonder whether the duty to pay agency fees infringes the principle of freedom of association, insofar as the liberty of the employee not to unionize employee might be thwarted by an obligation whose source is even questionable. Ultimately, the Authors share the view of the social partners on the necessity to guarantee that the employee is fully informed of the obligation placed upon him/her, which has to be formulated in a clear and express clause of the relevant collective agreement.