Abstract

The article aims at investigating how the "World Class Manufacturing" impacts on labour law. Both the individual and the collective dimension of employment relationship are taken into account. On the ground of the individual employment relationship, the most relevant impact deals with the notion of subordination: the employee's role and the team working scheme challenge the traditional idea of employment relationship. On the ground of collective labour relations, new forms of workers' participation arise, that are different from traditional union participation patterns, being focused on the sharing of knowledge and experiences. Finally, the article faces the issue of the adequacy of modern labour law against challenges of new forms of work organization.