1) Through ruling no. 22148/2017, the Court of Cassation has stated on the fundamental principle of art. 4 of the Workers’ Statute (as amended by Article 23 of Legislative Decree no. 151/2015) that provides that the installation of audio-video equipment and other instruments that could also control the employee’s activity, must be preceded by an agreement between the employer and the unions. Where an agreement between the parties is not reached, the employer must request for a specific administrative authorization. In the absence of any agreement with the trade unions or the administrative authority, the installation must be considered unlawful and will be punished by Criminal Law. Despite that, the innovative point of the ruling is the following: in the Supreme Court’s approach, it is irrelevant that the installation of the surveillance system has been previously authorized by all employees through a consent expressed in accordance with Privacy Law.
2) Through Court Ruling no.13978/2017, the Court of Cassation, Joined Chambers, stated that the right to convene the Trade Union Assembly pursuant to art. 20 Law no.300/1970, does not only belong to the RSU (“joint union representative body”) as a collective body, but also to its individual members. In the Court’s perspective, the democratic principle would be granted through the enhancement of minorities. At the same time, there could be a risk of wasting the Assembly hours without a previous agreement between all the employees’ representatives on the meeting agenda.