Introduction: what is at stake regarding the collective representation of contingent workers?

This book contains the outputs for two Southern European countries, Spain\r\nand Italy, of a European-wide investigation, the SWIRL – Slash Workers\r\nand Industrial ReLations project, founded by the Directorate-General for\r\nEmployment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission,\r\nwhich also covered Belgium, Bulgaria, France and Germany.1 This research\r\nhas analysed, from a sociological perspective, the rising trend of contingent\r\nwork, the needs and obstacles for collective representation that the wide range\r\nof workers who fit into this category of employment face and the innovative\r\nrepresentation experiences that nevertheless have emerged.