The union in front of the internet economy: “Idea diffusa”, the collective intelligence of Cgil

Abstract

This article analyses the tools that the biggest italian trade union, Cgil, created in order to properly address the challenges of digitalisation and internet economy. “Idea Diffusa” is a collaborative online platform where trade union officials and external experts discuss and share knowledge and experiences on these issues. It is a tool to create networks and collective intelligence and help Cgil learn more about these processes and be adaptive to actively govern them. Cgil’s path is analysed on the light of the role it could play in the context of digitalisation and therefore on the innovation required to trade unions to face it, both in terms of organising capacity and of collective bargaining topics and methods.