Abstract

The essay deals with the phenomenon of working poor across Europe as a consequence of the diffusion of atypical employment relationships, like involuntary part time and temporary contracts. Evidence from statistical official data shows ever higher rates in risk of in-work poverty and in-work material deprivation for atypical workers in the recent past, namely during and after the period of the economic crisis. Looking at the Italian legal system reasons of poverty risk for atypical workers is also analyzed under the point of view of the constitutional mechanism to implement the principle of minimum wage, in particular stressing the role played by trade unions through national collective agreements.