ISSN 3103-7305 • International English Edition
Trade Union & Collective Labour Law
Diamond Open Access
Vol. 1, Issue 3 (2026) • Art. 6603 • pp. 1–10
Standing to Sue against Anti-Union Conduct and Representative Union Prerequisites
Abstract
In ruling no. 25184/2026, the Italian Supreme Court clarifies the prerequisites for standing to sue against anti-union conduct under Article 28 of the Workers' Statute, rejecting any alignment with the selective criteria set forth in Article 19 following Constitutional Court decision no. 156/2025. The Court confirms that triggering this special procedural remedy merely requires the national dimension of the trade union, substantiated by genuine organizational presence and substantive collective activity across most of the national territory within the relevant industrial sector. This article analyzes the scope of the protection, procedural impacts, and the burden of proof incumbent upon claimant trade unions.
Key Legal Takeaways
- Functional autonomy of remedies: repressive judicial protection under Article 28 of the Workers' Statute safeguards general trade union freedom and the right to strike, diverging fundamentally from the selective prerequisites of comparative representativeness introduced into Article 19 of the Statute by constitutional case law.
- Dual requirement of national status: active standing requires two concurrent conditions: structural organizational presence across most of the national territory and the effective exercise of trade union activity (whether industrial conflict or collective bargaining).
- Industrial sector filter: the substantive consistency of trade union activity must be demonstrated specifically with regard to the economic sector to which the respondent undertaking belongs, whereas collective agreements signed in different sectors are irrelevant.
- Insufficiency of confederal affiliation: membership in a national confederation or the appointment of representatives to institutional advisory bodies does not cure the organizational fragmentation or territorial weakness of the claimant sectoral federation.
Suggested Scholarly Citation & Original Reference
International / OSCOLA Citation: Federico Palumbo, ‘Standing to Sue against Anti-Union Conduct and Representative Union Prerequisites’ (2026) 1(3) Metodo Giuridico (ISSN 3103-7305) Art 6603, 1–10 <https://www.metodogiuridico.it/2026/11/09/condotta-antisindacale-legittimazione-agire-rappresentativita-cassazione-25184-2026/en/>
Original Italian Title: La legittimazione ad agire per condotta antisindacale — License: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
