Trade Unions' Action for Individual Protection: a Cross-Country Analysis

this article aims at presenting the first results of a comparative study based on trade unions' action for individual protection in Italy and Europe. The focus of the analysis has been on five European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Sweden. The starting point for the comparison is the trade union-based structure of the Italian 'patronato', whose action found no immediate counterparty in any other country observed. Borrowing the most consolidated terminology among welfare systems scientists, the author affirms that the main divide turns out to be the universalistic provision of services of Italian 'patronato' against the selective and mostly occupation-based provision of social services of trade unions in other countries. The comparison allows the creation of a specific 'map of individual protection for each country observed, related to specific cultural, juridical and social features of each country observed.