Prevention, health, working environment: the Italian labour and trade union model of the 1970s

From the perspective of occupational health and safety, the 1970s marked a decisive turning point for Italy. The upheaval of 1969 – known as the ‘Hot Autumn ’ – constituted the largest wave of industrial conflicts of the post-war period, which would sweep through the country with increasing intensity until the middle of the following decade. The centrality of working conditions and the protection of workers’ physical and mental well-being became one of the most important issues for workers’ and trade union action in the 1970s.